One of Sweden’s top epidemiologists said it’s “very dangerous” to believe masks will prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Dr. Anders Tegnell, who heads up Sweden’s contentious coronavirus response, dismissed the idea that masks alone will “solve” the pandemic this week, citing “astonishingly weak” scientific evidence.
“The findings that have been produced through [the use of] face masks are astonishingly weak,” he told the German outlet Bild.
“I’m surprised that we don’t have more or better studies showing what effect masks actually have. Countries such as Spain and Belgium have made their populations wear masks, but their infection numbers have still risen. The belief that masks can solve our problem is in any case very dangerous,” he said.
Tegnell’s comments come as more than half of the United States has some sort of face mask requirement and as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises people to wear face coverings, especially in public.
“Masks are most likely to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when they are widely used by people in public settings. The spread of COVID-19 can be reduced when masks are used along with other preventive measures, including social distancing, frequent handwashing, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces,” the CDC advised.
Sweden made headlines for its herd immunity approach to the coronavirus earlier this year, with government officials not imposing a mandatory lockdown on the country. Tegnell advised that bars, most schools, and restaurants remained open when the virus was at its peak, arguing that COVID-19 may be present for years, which makes stay-at-home orders unsustainable.
Sweden hit its peak in infections and critical illnesses from the virus in late June and has since seen the rate of new infections drop.
“That Sweden has come down to these levels is very promising,” Tegnell said at the end of July. “The curves are going down, and the curves for the seriously ill are beginning to approach zero.”
Sweden has faced scrutiny for its pandemic response, with one academic calling the plan a “mad experiment with 10 million people” akin to “Russian roulette.”
Last week, the country reported its first day without a coronavirus death since March. It also reported having a death rate of 56.4 per 100,000 people, lower than the death rates in Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Currently, Sweden has confirmed more than 83,000 cases of the coronavirus and 5,770 deaths in the country, with a population of 10.2 million.
