When this all began, the right-wing caught the ‘Sweden fever’. Sweden was such a model for the world. Why shut down everything…that’s not what Sweden is doing. I wish someone would go back and do an analysis of how many segments Fox News did, praising Sweden.

Well, even before this article, it was obvious that Sweden’s approach was whack.
Never forgot this when I read it, and so, I keep on repeating it:
Take Sweden’s five closest neighbors.
Add up their COVID-19 Deaths.
TRIPLE THAT.
And, that is Sweden’s COVID-19 death toll -ALONE.

Uh huh.
Uh huh.
What a model.
Folks FINALLY taking a hard look at Sweden and crunching the numbers at ‘ how well’ they’ve done.

Sweden has become world’s coronavirus cautionary tale
Not only have thousands more people died than in neighboring countries that imposed lockdowns, but Sweden’s economy has fared little better.

By Peter S. Goodman New York Times

JULY 8, 2020 — 2:43PM

LONDON — Ever since the coronavirus emerged in Europe, Sweden has captured international attention by conducting an unorthodox, open-air experiment. It has allowed the world to examine what happens in a pandemic when a government allows life to carry on largely unhindered.

This is what has happened: Not only have thousands more people died than in neighboring countries that imposed lockdowns, but Sweden’s economy has fared little better.

“They literally gained nothing,” said Jacob F. Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “It’s a self-inflicted wound, and they have no economic gains.”

The results of Sweden’s experience are relevant well beyond Scandinavian shores. In the United States, where the virus is spreading with alarming speed, many states have — at President Donald Trump’s urging — avoided lockdowns or lifted them prematurely on the assumption that this would foster economic revival, allowing people to return to workplaces, shops and restaurants.
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Sweden put stock in the sensibility of its people as it largely avoided imposing government prohibitions. The government allowed restaurants, gyms, shops, playgrounds and most schools to remain open. By contrast, Denmark and Norway opted for strict quarantines, banning large groups and locking down shops and restaurants.

More than three months later, the coronavirus is blamed for 5,420 deaths in Sweden, according to the World Health Organization. That might not sound especially horrendous compared with the more than 129,000 Americans who have died. But Sweden is a country of only 10 million people. Per million people, Sweden has suffered 40% more deaths than the United States, 12 times more than Norway, seven times more than Finland and six times more than Denmark.

The elevated death toll resulting from Sweden’s approach has been clear for many weeks. What is only now emerging is how Sweden, despite letting its economy run unimpeded, has still suffered business-destroying, prosperity-diminishing damage and at nearly the same magnitude of its neighbors.