Read on Twitter
1) How do regional factors impact Sweden's #COVID19 deaths?
Stockholm (pop 2.4m): 897 dead = 374 per mil
Rest of Sweden (pop 7.8m): 614 dead = 79 per mil
So, Sweden minus Stockholm -- but incl Gothenburg (pop 1m metro) & Malmö (pop 730k metro) -- near Denmark in dead/million.
Stockholm (pop 2.4m): 897 dead = 374 per mil
Rest of Sweden (pop 7.8m): 614 dead = 79 per mil
So, Sweden minus Stockholm -- but incl Gothenburg (pop 1m metro) & Malmö (pop 730k metro) -- near Denmark in dead/million.
2) Stockholm’s 23% of Swedish population accounts for 59% of Swedish #COVID19 deaths. Isn’t just about population density (Gothenburg & Malmö are urban), or about more marginalized populations living in cramped housing. Comparing to numbers from Skåne (incl. Malmö) revealing.
3) Article in @Aftonbladet shows Skåne (pop. 1.4m, incl Malmö) has 38 #COVID19 deaths, giving per million death rate around 12x lower than Stockholm. While Stockholm's poorer immigrant community has been hit hard, Malmö's (relatively speaking) hasn't. Why? https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/samhalle/a/K3mA2E/skane-mindre-drabbat-an-stockholm--inforde-stenharda-atgarder
4) Some reasons offered for Skåne's much lower rate are that regional govt implemented bans on visitors to hospitals and elderly care homes much faster than Stockholm's regional government. Also, Skåne quickly restricted access to non-urgent dental care and shut cultural schools.
5) Skåne also went out with a multi-lingual campaign on city buses and trains with information about #COVID19 (something Stockholm was criticized for not doing quickly enough, particularly in areas w/large % of minority groups), and sent info leaflets directly to 60,000 homes.
6) When Stockholm areas w/large % of residents w/immigrant background hit hard, right-wing pols suggested "cultural differences" had impact. Yet, Malmö's immigrant-heavy Rosengård district not hit by virus as areas in Stockholm, suggesting city action, not "culture," had impact.
7) Final factor: Sweden's "sports vacation" where people go skiing: Malmö sports vacation was 1 week before Stockholm, so people coming back to Malmö from Italy/Austria may have missed highest infection period, while Stockholmers in Italy/Austria one week later hit much harder.
8) Difference bet. Stockholm and Skåne re #COVID19: (1) decisive regional politics/actions matter; (2) effective information/action for marginalized communities matters, often debunking simplistic "cultural difference" arguments; and, (3) bad luck plays a role (holiday dates).
9) Stockholm engine of Sweden's #COVID19 outbreak. Not unusual for big city. But, rest of Sweden operating under same national policy w/lower numbers (so far). Sweden's national low-key strategy makes local politics, actions, economics crucial. Ignore these, and you miss a lot.
10) (As a final, late addition to this thread: This thread isn't about absolute answers. I'm not an epidemiologist. It's about the need for media coverage in every country to consider multiple factors and complexity when discussing national numbers, including local factors.)
