Thread by @FLAHAULT

1/9 - “Sweden’s king has admitted that the Scandinavian country has failed with its #COVID19 strategy, which has left it with a far higher death toll from the pandemic than its Nordic neighbours.”
ft.com/content/d1e581…

2/9 - “Carl XVI Gustaf told Swedes in his annual Christmas address that the country had suffered “enormously in difficult conditions” and that it was “traumatic” that many relatives of the almost 8,000 people to die with #COVID19 had not been able to say goodbye to them.”

3/9 - ““I think we have failed. We have a large number who have died and that is terrible. It is something we all have to suffer with,” the king added.”

4/9 - “Sweden’s light-touch #COVID19 strategy with no formal lockdown, no recommendations to use face masks, and weaker quarantine rules than elsewhere in Europe has been the subject of intense debate. Many have cited Sweden and its ability to keep its schools and economy open.”

5/9 - “State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell argued throughout the spring and summer that Sweden would be spared compared with neighbouring Finland and Norway because of higher immunity provided by the first wave.”

6/9 - “Sweden has reported about 1,700 #COVID19 deaths in the past month compared with about 100 each in Finland and Norway, each of which have half Sweden’s population.”

7/9 - “Sweden’s #COVID19 strategy also received scathing criticism this week from the initial findings of an independent commission: Its report said current and previous Swedish governments bore the main responsibility for the country’s failure to protect its elderly people.”

8/9 - “Sweden’s capital Stockholm and some other regions are close to running out of intensive care beds, prompting authorities to trigger a national escalation plan while both Finland and Norway have offered medical assistance.”

9/9 - “The government is also working on a temporary law to give it greater authority to order closures, but it is not likely to come into power until mid-March.”