Sweden Has Become the World's Cautionary Tale

[Zorro]

Its decision to carry on in the face of the pandemic has yielded a surge of deaths without sparing its economy from damage — a red flag as the United States and Britain move to lift lockdowns.

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 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.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/business/sweden-economy-coronavirus.html

[lagomorph777]

1. We are the big cautionary tale. Sweden is small potatoes.

[TheFarseer]

2. I'm confused on if other countries

are still on lockdown or opened up or somewhere in between. Does anyone have the scoop on this?

[Pobeka]

3. and they didn't get herd immunity out of the deal either.

since it now appears antibodies disappear within 2 to 3 months.

Horrible decision on Sweden's part. Gambling that this coronavirus would be different from the others we know about that also give on long term immunity after exposure.

[hunter]

4. Sweden? I think not. The shit show is here in the U.S.A..

.

[Quixote1818]

5. Per capita they have more deaths currently

But we will probably catch up.