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The Swedish #Covid-19 experiment is over. After a severe second #coronavirus wave - which authorities said won’t happen - the government imposed some mandatory restrictions to curb hospitalisations and deaths. My report via @WSJ https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658
After a surge in Covid-19 infections led to rising hospitalizations and deaths, Sweden has abandoned its attempt—unique among Western nations—to combat the pandemic through voluntary measures alone @WSJ https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658?st=asrgsjh8lfkkdk5&reflink=article_copyURL_share
With total Covid-19-related deaths reaching almost 700 per million inhabitants, infections growing exponen-tially and hospital wards filling up, the government had to shift https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658?st=e7pv0aotrfrjljx&reflink=article_copyURL_share
Last week Sweden’s total coronavirus death count crossed 7,000. Neighboring Denmark, Finland and Norway, all similar-sized countries, have recorded since the start of the pandemic 878, 415 and 354 deaths respectively https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658?st=fkvbuvk00d0uyq6&reflink=article_copyURL_share
Tegnell said lockdowns were unsustainable and unnecessary, discouraging mask-wearing as the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, a #EU agency whose headquarters are located near his office, recommends wearing them https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658?st=oyjap38v7zs9wvj&reflink=article_copyURL_share
Tegnell predicted that Swedes would gradually build immunity to the virus through controlled exposure, that vaccines would take longer than expected to develop, and that death rates across the West would converge. https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658?st=iibvucv5g5cshi2&reflink=article_copyURL_share
Instead, a coronavirus vaccine was authorized last week, Sweden’s death rate remains an outlier among its neighbors, and Tegnell acknowledged in late November that the new surge in infections showed there was “no sign” of herd immunity https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658?st=iibvucv5g5cshi2&reflink=article_copyURL_share
Sweden’s laissez-faire pandemic strategy has failed to deliver the economic benefits its proponents had predicted. In the first half of the year, GDP fell by 8.5% and unemployment is projected to rise to nearly 10% in the beginning of 2021 https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658?st=oljzolixcfd2jb1&reflink=article_copyURL_share
Despite the lack of lockdown, Sweden’s economic performance has not been better than that if it’s neighbors https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658?st=o6at4nn7dyk0s42&reflink=article_copyURL_share
Anders Tegnell, the face of Sweden’s pandemic management, remains hugely popular, despite his wrong predictions & opposition to masks. People have tattooed his visage, made it into Christmas decorations, and baked life-sized gingerbread cakes in his image https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658?st=nehu605vjcivuwd&reflink=article_copyURL_share
Despite the high infection and mortality rates, Sweden is refusing to mandate masks. EU’s, @ECDC_EU (based in Stockholm!) is recommending masks, as do the @CDCgov in the US, the @WHO and Sweden’s own @vetenskapsakad that awards the Nobel Prize https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658?st=as2c50tvefcqjum&reflink=article_copyURL_share
Attention has been focused on Sweden, but its Nordic neighbors, Norway and Finland in particular, have had much greater success while enjoying near-equal freedoms, with bars/restos open etc. One major difference: they have much stricter border controls.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658?st=ne9oxpfvqk8hsm1&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658?st=ne9oxpfvqk8hsm1&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
“Authorities chose a strategy totally different to the rest of Europe, and because of it the country has suffered a lot in the first wave,”-Piotr Nowak of Karolinska Hospital. “We have no idea how they failed to predict the second wave.” https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658?st=hplbwud8dx8a9kd&reflink=article_copyURL_share
“We don’t like to say that Sweden has been the black sheep, but it has been the different sheep,” https://www.wsj.com/articles/long-a-holdout-from-covid-19-restrictions-sweden-ends-its-pandemic-experiment-11607261658?st=hp3kx7ul8hjmjxq&reflink=article_copyURL_share
