A thread from Sweden:
Much of what has been reported in the foreign press seems to misrepresent or over simplify the situation. It is not ‘business as usual,’ here. The government has simply put more responsibility on the individual
Much of what has been reported in the foreign press seems to misrepresent or over simplify the situation. It is not ‘business as usual,’ here. The government has simply put more responsibility on the individual
There is a voluntary lockdown in place. People are advised to work from home where possible. Not assemble in large crowds and maintain social distancing. The economy has still suffered.
Deaths per million are higher here than neighbouring countries. Although lower than the U.K. and considerably lower than Italy or Spain. Government would argue avoidable non-covid deaths will be lower in the long run - a statistic hard to stand up so early.
It is of course controversial not to have ordered a shutdown, but the government says they wanted to make a ‘liveable lockdown,’ as they know this will continue for many many months. They did not have a rush on hospitals, and say they still have capacity in their health system
It may be that Sweden has been peculiarly able to do this, with a spread out population & robust health services. Gov says their illnesses peaked on April 15, and that 600,000 in Stockholm will have had the virus by May 1st. Meaning people can work - and no dreaded second wave
It is also the case that Sweden has taken a very broad view of the health challenges posed by a complete lockdown. Mental health and other issues that may be ignored - perhaps not a priority elsewhere - are generally just a bigger part of the health strategy here.
No lockdown in any country is intended to avoid deaths altogether. Sweden’s gamble is that it doesn’t see a greater proportion of deaths - directly or indirectly Corona related - than countries that did fully lockdown. Especially the ones next door.
It may be the true scale of deaths can’t be known here yet, and that particularly the elderly will suffer. It’s too early to know.
Opinion here is definitely divided. The whole thing is under-pinned by individual responsibility.
Maybe Swedes are good at that. But it’s also difficult to know for sure what to do in a pandemic - so the safest option would be to stay home.
Maybe Swedes are good at that. But it’s also difficult to know for sure what to do in a pandemic - so the safest option would be to stay home.
Whatever the truth, there are a whole set of complex variables that mean it would be very hard to just ‘do what Sweden is doing.’
