Coronavirus DK: Shaming, blaming and complaining

A couple of days ago I reported that Kåre Mølbak of SSI, the agency responsible for preparedness for infectious diseases, scolded teenagers for not following social distancing guidelines. Mølbak cited test statistics showing that the number of infections in that age group had doubled over a few weeks. Since then, Mølbak has been criticized (DK) by representatives of several political parties for shaming a particular segment of the population, for not delivering the statistics in question to the MPs, and for making misleading comparisons between the test results in the two periods. 

The politicians, including Stinus Lindgren, the healthcare spokesperson for the Social Liberal Party, note that the testing policy changed had changed between the two periods that Mølbak cited, with the addition of tests for people with only mild sympoms. So they want to know whether the change in the results was owing to an actual rise in the number of infections or the change in testing. They have requested the statistics but have not received them. The information is relevant for the parties’ negotiations on the next phase of the relaxation of the lockdown because high schools are still closed and the SSI has ranked them in the medium-risk category.

Too easy a target?

Peder Hvelplund of the Red-Green Party also criticizes the practice of mixing healthcare research and policy. Reproving a group of citizens is a political act, and it should be based on adequate documentation of the problem. “It is foolish to shame the young (DK),” said Jakob Mark, the parliamentary group leader for the Socialist People’s Party. “The infection statistics show that the percentage of young people who are infected is declining.” 

It is sometimes unclear whether politicians or journalists are referring to the percentage of infections among those tested or among the total number of infections. Teenagers still represent a very small portion of infected persons, but if they are more likely to be asymptomatic and not develop Covid-19, that does not reduce the risk that they may infect others while they are infected. None of the politicians quoted say that the accusations were unwarranted. On the basis of reports of the gatherings the week before in the Islands Brygge waterfront area as well as my own informal observations, they are generally accurate, with the proviso that the behavior of those in their twenties may not be much different.

Tourism in the plague year

Frank Jensen, the Mayor of Copenhagen, wants to open restaurants and cafes soon (DK) for outdoor service if Denmark is to make a success of the summer tourist season. Jensen has invited the mayors of the country’s six largest cities to a meeting to plan a reopening of the tourism industry. He said that in Copenhagen alone the industry will lose DKK 4.7 billion ($670 million) in revenues in March, April and May. Jensen notes that restaurants must take measures to ensure that social distancing guidelines are followed, for example by using the space in parking lots to keep patrons apart.

Restaurants have been open in Sweden throughout the pandemic. Oslo, which has allowed restaurants to operate without serving alcohol, will lift the ban on alcohol on May 6. That will make Copenhagen the only Scandinavian capital where restaurants are closed and put it at a disadvantage in attracting tourists. On Friday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that she expects the next phase of the lockdown exit to proceed on May 10 but did not specify what types of businesses and organizations would be allowed to open.