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Sweden is the country to watch as they are the policy outlier. It appears that their infection, hospitalization, and death rates are not higher than other coun

Sweden is the country to watch as they are the policy outlier. It appears that their infection, hospitalization, and death rates are not higher than other countries which implemented lockdowns. It also appears that their economic activity has declined by a similar amount as did that of countries which implemented lockdowns. So if staying at home is made voluntary, the economy won't reflate all of a sudden, and illness and mortality probably won't increase. Because even if staying at home is voluntary, many people will still stay at home, including potential patrons of reopened businesses. We'll see how things progress in the months ahead, but our course seems set regardless of policy.

Mountain_Skies 7y ago
Due to the nature of how we believe this virus spreads, it's likely too soon to read much into what's going on in Sweden. A month from now will probably give a much clearer picture of the differences in the two approaches.
viklove 7y ago
You just can't compare Sweden to a country like the US. Sweden is largely homogenous with regard to race, religion, and culture. Their poverty rate is 1%. The US on the other hand is extremely diverse, has 30x+ the population, and has a 10% poverty rate.
nhebb 7y ago
I don't understand why Sweden is being held up as a paragon. Their death rate is currently 9th worst worldwide and over 2x that of the United States': https://www.statista.com/statistics/1105914/coronavirus-death-rates-worldwide/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1105914/coronavirus-deat... Edit: Both are good replies. Thank you.
- hocuspocus 7y ago
  Death rate is high in Sweden because the number of confirmed cases is wildly underreported. Comparing the death rate between countries is pointless at this stage, given the inconsistencies in reporting and the fairly long period between symptoms onset and death.
- username90 7y ago
  Sweden stopped testing people who don't get hospitalized about 3 weeks ago. Before that their death rate was extremely low, on par with Germany. > However, that strategy has now changed. Authorities have shifted their focus away from testing all possible cases, and instead on protecting the most vulnerable groups. People with severe respiratory symptoms or who belong to a risk group will still be tested. https://www.thelocal.se/20200320/fact-check-has-sweden-stopped-testing-people-for-the-coronavirus https://www.thelocal.se/20200320/fact-check-has-sweden-stopp...

Mountain_Skies 7y ago

Due to the nature of how we believe this virus spreads, it's likely too soon to read much into what's going on in Sweden. A month from now will probably give a much clearer picture of the differences in the two approaches.

viklove 7y ago

You just can't compare Sweden to a country like the US. Sweden is largely homogenous with regard to race, religion, and culture. Their poverty rate is 1%. The US on the other hand is extremely diverse, has 30x+ the population, and has a 10% poverty rate.

nhebb 7y ago

I don't understand why Sweden is being held up as a paragon. Their death rate is currently 9th worst worldwide and over 2x that of the United States': https://www.statista.com/statistics/1105914/coronavirus-death-rates-worldwide/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1105914/coronavirus-deat... Edit: Both are good replies. Thank you.

hocuspocus 7y ago
Death rate is high in Sweden because the number of confirmed cases is wildly underreported. Comparing the death rate between countries is pointless at this stage, given the inconsistencies in reporting and the fairly long period between symptoms onset and death.
username90 7y ago
Sweden stopped testing people who don't get hospitalized about 3 weeks ago. Before that their death rate was extremely low, on par with Germany. > However, that strategy has now changed. Authorities have shifted their focus away from testing all possible cases, and instead on protecting the most vulnerable groups. People with severe respiratory symptoms or who belong to a risk group will still be tested. https://www.thelocal.se/20200320/fact-check-has-sweden-stopped-testing-people-for-the-coronavirus https://www.thelocal.se/20200320/fact-check-has-sweden-stopp...