3 ms·

I don’t think these kind of comparisons are meaningful until we are out of it. It all depends on exactly when the outbreaks started at the different places and

by Ma8ee 7y ago

I don’t think these kind of comparisons are meaningful until we are out of it. It all depends on exactly when the outbreaks started at the different places and what the long term infection rate will be.

rolandog 7y ago
These uncoordinated set of strategies by different countries seem to me like battles in RPGs; Sweden's probably opting to take less economic damage and instead take a x2 damage on health points. The Netherlands is switching strategies, thinking that Sweden's strategy is cool, but they're dipping their toes first by sending in teachers and children to see if they take a great amount of damage.
- microtherion 7y ago
  > Sweden's probably opting to take less economic damage In all the discussion so far, I haven't seen any documentation of just how much "economic damage" the various countries are taking. I suppose there is little such data at sufficiently fine granularity to compare internationally. It's entirely plausible that Sweden's voluntary measures vs other countries' stricter approach don't make as much economic difference as many people seem to take for granted.
- Ma8ee 7y ago
  My impression is that they actually haven’t considered the economy much at all when they have decided the strategy. More important is that that the strategy is feasible in the long run. You can close everything for a few weeks, but this is going to continue for many months still, maybe even years. Also, the social costs of isolation must also be taken into consideration. All the kids where the school is the only stable point in their life. Domestic abuse, alcohol and drug abuse are all going up a lot when people are isolated.
vondur 7y ago
Yeah, I agree with you there. I'm going to guess that the LA area has early exposure to the virus due to our close ties to China here.
- atourgates 7y ago
  There's also a possibility (for now just a possibility) that the virus behaves differently in warmer climates. The average daily temperature in March in Sweden was a bit on either side of freezing, while it regularly gets up to 70F in Los Angeles. Meaning that if the virus is affected by more summer'y weather, Los Angeles has a significant advantage compared to Sweden.

by Ma8ee 7y ago

rolandog 7y ago

These uncoordinated set of strategies by different countries seem to me like battles in RPGs; Sweden's probably opting to take less economic damage and instead take a x2 damage on health points. The Netherlands is switching strategies, thinking that Sweden's strategy is cool, but they're dipping their toes first by sending in teachers and children to see if they take a great amount of damage.

microtherion 7y ago
> Sweden's probably opting to take less economic damage In all the discussion so far, I haven't seen any documentation of just how much "economic damage" the various countries are taking. I suppose there is little such data at sufficiently fine granularity to compare internationally. It's entirely plausible that Sweden's voluntary measures vs other countries' stricter approach don't make as much economic difference as many people seem to take for granted.
Ma8ee 7y ago
My impression is that they actually haven’t considered the economy much at all when they have decided the strategy. More important is that that the strategy is feasible in the long run. You can close everything for a few weeks, but this is going to continue for many months still, maybe even years. Also, the social costs of isolation must also be taken into consideration. All the kids where the school is the only stable point in their life. Domestic abuse, alcohol and drug abuse are all going up a lot when people are isolated.

vondur 7y ago

Yeah, I agree with you there. I'm going to guess that the LA area has early exposure to the virus due to our close ties to China here.

atourgates 7y ago
There's also a possibility (for now just a possibility) that the virus behaves differently in warmer climates. The average daily temperature in March in Sweden was a bit on either side of freezing, while it regularly gets up to 70F in Los Angeles. Meaning that if the virus is affected by more summer'y weather, Los Angeles has a significant advantage compared to Sweden.