스웨덴 특유의 방식 - 학교, 술집 완전 폐쇄하지 않은 이유

스웨덴 특유의 방식 - 학교, 술집 완전 폐쇄하지 않은 이유 (1) 이웃 신뢰도 가장 높은 편, 정부는 권고, 시민은 자발성 발휘. 영국 미국에 비해 2배나 높은 이웃 신뢰도. (2) 1인 가구가 전체 50% 차지 (3) 노인들을 모시고 살지 않음, 노인들 독립가구 많아 (4) 공공의료 시설 좋은 편. 

이웃과 신뢰도가 가장 높은 유럽국가 스웨덴, 코로나 위기 대처 방식, 과연 성공할까? 전문가가 아니니 판단할 수도 없고, 아직 결론도 내기는 힘들다. 하지만 분명한 것은 평상시 얼마나 이웃들, 타인과의 사회적 '연대'와 '신뢰'가 튼튼하느냐가 코로나 전염병 방어 성패를 좌우한다고 본다. 백신 개발, 공중 병원 건설 등 의료적 사회제도와 더불어, 영국과 미국에 비해 스웨덴이 사회적 신뢰,이웃,타인에 대한 신뢰도가 2배나 높다는 것을 우리는 주목해 볼 필요가 있다.

스웨덴 코로나 대처 방식 특성을 보도한 캐나다 한 뉴스 토막 정리.

 

요약: 스웨덴 정부는 '사회적 거리두기'를 권고하고, 그 결정과 실천 여부는 시민이 한다. 학교와 상점, 술집은 아직 문열어. 이것은 시민의 신뢰와 자발성을 강조하는 스웨덴 특유의 사회적 가치에서 비롯되었다.

 스웨덴 수상 스테판 로프펜 (Stefan Lofven)도 사회적(신체적) 거리두기는 권고했지만, 주택에만 거주하게 하거나, 공공장소 완전 폐쇄결정은 하지 않았다.

50명 이상 모이는 공공장소는 금지, 스키장, 극장 폐쇄 권고했고, 상인들은 자발적으로 가게 문열고 닫음을 결정하고 있다. 

영국, 프랑스, 스페인, 이탈리아와는 대조적으로, 정부가 경찰 동원이나 강압적인 조치는 취하지 않고 있다. 

물론 이에 대한 외부 지적도 있다.  스웨덴 정부가 도박을 감행하고 있다. 확진자 5천명 넘고, 300명 사망자가 발생했기 때문이다. 

하지만 스웨덴 의료진들은  현재 방침보다 더 밀어부치게 되면, 의료인들이 감당하지 못할 것이라는 진단이다.

 

전염병 학자  테크넬(Tegnell) 발언
"아직까지 노인 거주 주택과 병원으로 바이러스 침투하지 않음. 스톡홀름 몇 개 병원들은 어려움도 겪고 있지만, 전반적인 스웨덴 의료 체제는 잘 기능하고 있음. 앞으로 필요하면 몇 개월 몇 년 이런 ‘자발적 협조’ 방식을 채택할 것임"

경제는 당장에는 침체를 경험하겠지만, 코로나 위기를 지나면 다시 발전할 것이다.

역사학자 라스 트라고드 (Lars Tragardh) 지적

pandemic (전염병 유행)에 대해 다른 나라들과 달리’ 정부는 사회적(신체적) 거리두기를 권고하되 시민들의 자발성에 맡긴다는 스웨덴 사람들의 태도는, 스웨덴 사회가 아주 ‘신뢰’를 중시하기 때문에, 그런 특이한 방식으로 코로나 바이러스에 대응하고 있음.

한 신뢰도 조사에 따르면, 스웨덴 조사 대상자 중 60%는 다른 사람들(이웃)을 신뢰하고 있다고 답변했다. 이러한 조사는 1996년 이래 동일하고, 미국과 영국의 2배에 달한다.

또한 정부와 공무기관들도 스웨덴 시민들이 올바른 결정을 할 것이라고 믿는다. 

스웨덴 가구의 50%는 1인 가구다. 이 비율은 유럽의 30%에 비해서 월등히 높다.

스웨덴 특징은 노인들과 같이 살지 않는다는 것이고, 대부분 노인들은 독립적으로 살거나 정부 지원 주택에서 살고 있다.

영국처럼 학부모가 나서서 정부더러 학교를 폐쇄하라고 스웨덴 학부모들은 행동하지 않는다. 왜냐하면 스웨덴 부모들은 대부분 맞벌이 부부이기 때문에, 학교가 폐쇄되면 그들 일에 지장을 받기 때문이다.  

그러나 지난 주 2천명 의사와 의료 전문가들은 “스웨덴도 예외 국가가 될 수 없다”고 진단하고, 정부의 신속한 대응을 주문하는 편지를 발표했다. 

그럼에도, 전염병학자 엠마 프란스는 스웨덴 정부 방침에 동조하는 편인데, 그 이유는 사람들을 집안에 언제까지 가둬둘 수 있겠는가, 이 방식이 지속가능하기 힘들다는 것이다.

더 나은 방식이 뭔가? 

Why is Sweden staying open amid the coronavirus pandemic?

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-why-is-sweden-staying-open-amid-the-coronavirus-pandemic/

While other European countries are under strict lockdowns, Swedes can still go to school, drink at pubs, and mingle in parks and streets. The country’s chief epidemiologist says the unusual measures are rooted in national values of voluntarism and trust – but not everyone thinks they will work

PAUL WALDIE EUROPE CORRESPONDENT

LONDON

PUBLISHED APRIL 2, 2020

UPDATED 1 HOUR AGO

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Why is Sweden staying open amid the coronavirus pandemic?

While other European countries are under strict lockdowns, Swedes can still go to school, drink at pubs, and mingle in parks and streets. The country’s chief epidemiologist says the unusual measures are rooted in national values of voluntarism and trust – but not everyone thinks they will work

PAUL WALDIEEUROPE CORRESPONDENT

LONDON

PUBLISHED APRIL 2, 2020

UPDATED 6 HOURS AGO

137 COMMENTS

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00:00 Open this photo in gallery An electronic billboard urging sick people to stay home is shown on an otherwise bustling main street in downtown Stockholm on April 1, 2020. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JONATHAN 

While countries around the world impose strict measures to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, Sweden has followed a different path: no lockdowns, no school closures and no ban on going to the pub. The Scandinavian country is pursuing what Prime Minister Stefan Lofven calls a “common sense” response to the pandemic by keeping the country largely functioning and aiming health measures at the most vulnerable.

 “We who are adults need to be exactly that – adults. Not spread panic or rumours," Mr. Lofven said in a televised address to the country last week. "No one is alone in this crisis, but each person has a heavy responsibility.” The latest on the coronavirus: Ontario to release COVID-19 modelling data; Toronto threatens to fine residents who violate social distancing What are the coronavirus rules in my province?

 A quick guide to what’s allowed and open, or closed and banned The approach has put Sweden at odds with many countries across Europe, including its neighbours – Denmark, Norway and Finland – where almost all public venues have been shut and people have been ordered to stay indoors. In Sweden, most bars, restaurants and schools remain open, and people continue to mingle in parks and on city streets. The government has introduced social-distancing guidelines and encouraged people to work from home. Gatherings of more than 50 people have also been banned, and some businesses, notably cinemas and ski resorts, have voluntarily closed. But few of the measures are mandatory, and almost no one expects Sweden to adopt the kind of fines and police checks that have become commonplace in Britain, France, Spain and Italy. 

Open this photo in gallery Anders Tegnell is the chief epidemiologist of Sweden's public health agency. A growing number of doctors and medical experts worry that the government is taking a huge gamble, especially as the number of infections in Sweden surpass 5,000 and the death toll approaches 300. 

But public health officials insist their efforts are working and that doing anything more drastic would be unsustainable.

 “In Sweden we are following the tradition that we have in Sweden and working very much with voluntary measures, very much with informing the public about the right things to do. 

That has worked reasonably well so far,” Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s chief epidemiologist and main architect of the policy, said in an interview from Stockholm.

 Dr. Tegnell said most people are travelling less, working from home and adhering to social-distancing measures. “We have so far not had very much of a spread [of the virus] into elderly homes and almost no spread into the hospitals, which is very important,” he said. 

He added that, so far, the hospital system has generally been able to cope with admissions, but some in Stockholm have faced difficulty. For now, though, he has no plans to change the overall approach. 

“We know that [with] these kinds of voluntary measures that we put in place in Sweden, we can basically go on with them for months and years if necessary.” And even though the economy has slowed, “it has the potential to start moving as usual very, very quickly once these things are over.”

 Open this photo in gallery 

Travel has quieted down, but not halted, at Stockholm's main railway station on April 2. Open this photo in gallery A man cleans and disinfects a taxi to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Open this photo in gallery People take in the cherry blossoms at Kungstradgarden. 

Health officials have issued recommendations for social distancing in Sweden, but they are voluntary. Historian Lars Tragardh said Sweden’s response to the pandemic is rooted in its unique social attitudes. “Sweden is a high-trust country in a way, which is highly unusual,” said Dr. Tragardh, a professor of history and civil society studies at Ersta Skondal University in Stockholm. Surveys show that Swedes trust the government and each other to a degree rarely seen in other countries. 

An annual study of public attitudes by researchers at the University of Gothenburg found that almost 60 per cent of Swedes said they had a high degree of trust in people. That percentage has remained constant in every survey since 1996, and is about double the level in Britain and the United States. “There’s also trust the other way,” Dr. Tragardh said. 

“The government and state institutions, generally speaking, trust citizens to do the right thing.” Swedish family structures also differ from those of other parts of Europe. Almost half of Swedish households consist of a single person, the highest proportion in Europe and well more than the European Union average of 30 per cent. 

There’s also no tradition of living with grandparents, and elderly people tend to live on their own or in state-supported homes. “Swedes are proverbially suffering anyway from some kind of tendency toward social distancing,” Dr. Tragardh said with a laugh. “So in that sense, culturally speaking, we are well equipped to handle a crisis of this sort.”

 There has also been little public pressure in Sweden to close all schools, unlike in Britain, where parents demanded the government do so. That’s largely because Sweden has a high percentage of families with two working parents, and Dr. Tegnell concluded that closing schools would be far too disruptive. Instead, he left primary schools open, and closed high schools and universities, but classes continue online and some may soon reopen.

 Not everyone is comfortable with the government’s go-slow approach. Last week 2,000 doctors and public-health experts signed an open letter calling on the government to go further. “We still have some time to react and suppress the virus,” the letter said. “Our nation should not be the exception in Europe."

 Emma Frans, an epidemiologist at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, has some sympathy for the government’s approach. 

“Locking people in and closing schools is very difficult to sustain,” Dr. Frans said. 

But she is concerned about the pressure that’s building in the health-care system.

 “So I’m not sure at all that this will work, but my question is: What is a better thing to do?”