‘Dangerous’ to think masks will stop virus: Swedish epidemiologist

Epidemiologist in charge of Sweden’s coronavirus response says scientific evidence for mask-wearing is ‘astonishingly weak’.

Only one man wears a protective mask as travellers queue up to board a boat at Stranvagen in Stockholm. Picture: AFP.

The epidemiologist in charge of Sweden’s coronavirus response has dismissed the scientific evidence for mask-wearing as “astonishingly weak”.

Anders Tegnell said it was “very dangerous” to believe that masks alone could control the spread of the disease.

He has steered a different course from those plotted by most European countries, leaving bars, restaurants and most schools open throughout the pandemic. His public health agency has maintained that there is no need for Swedes to wear masks even in crowded spaces, although they are recommended in most large airport terminals.

State Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell of the Swedish Public Health Agency speaks to reporters. Picture: AFP.

This contrasts with nations such as the UK and Germany, which slowly came to the conclusion that masks helped to limit transmission, and Spain and Poland, which for a time made them compulsory outside the home.

Dr Tegnell said these decisions were not grounded in solid science. “The findings that have been produced through [the use of] face masks are astonishingly weak,” he told the newspaper 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.”

The Swedish strategy follows two central principles: that the pandemic will last longer than any lockdown and that the only answer is to trust people to make sensible decisions.

As of Monday Sweden had recorded 5,763 COVID-19 deaths, but the number of new infections is declining.

The Times