Coronavirus: Sweden's death rate from COVID-19 surpasses USA

[TomCADem]

Source: 9news

Sweden has had a surge in deaths from coronavirus, surpassing the rate of the USA, according to new figures.

The Scandinavian nation controversially rejected the stricter lockdown approach of other countries in their strategy to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping most schools open, as well as stores and restaurants.

According to data from John Hopkins University, now Sweden has a death rate of 297.16 for every 1 million citizens, after 3,040 died from coronavirus. There have been 24,623 confirmed COVID-19 cases and so far 4,074 have recovered.

Comparatively the death rate in the US is 226.33 per 1 million citizens, after 74,239 have passed away from the virus.

Read more: https://www.9news.com.au/world/coronavirus-sweden-death-toll-covid19-rate-greater-than-usa/2ff8dd35-ecdc-42b8-bc89-5da7736f52cd

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Yet, Trump has been pushing the U.S. to adopt the Sweden model. Also, Sweden has several advantages that the U.S. does not. Sweden does not have large, multi-generational families living in one house. In some way, they are naturally socially distanced, but even with this factors, they are experiencing a surge in deaths.

[Mike 03]

1. Those aren't really deaths: that's just "herd immunity" working its magic

[exboyfil]

2. Sweden is now almost 8 times worse than Norway

and 3.5 times worse than Denmark.

[democrattotheend]

17. We'll see if that's still the case a year or two from now

When we first started shutting down, they told us it was to flatten the curve, so that we didn't get it all at once and overwhelm the healthcare system, not to reduce the overall number of people who get it. As far as I know Sweden hasn't had any problems with healthcare capacity and that's part of why they were able to do it this way. They have universal healthcare and more ventilators per person than we do, and a better social safety net overall.

I'm guessing that in a year to 18 months Sweden's deaths per million will be similar to other Scandinavian countries that shut down more.

[Recursion]

21. I mean, yeah, Sweden's argument is based on that

Their claim is that all the other countries will get to where they are, eventually.

[Hugin]

22. I guess the film, "The Mist" was never translated to Swedish.

Most depressing movie ending... Ever.

However, to pursue the let's-kill-everybody-now strategy vastly discounts the value of time in developing improved therapies, treatments, and preventatives. As well as, merely gaining an understanding of the nature of the disease.

[SunSeeker]

33. Yes, it is horrifically fatalistic and lacks trust in science to develop treatments.

And it puts a pretty low value on human life.



Not a good look for Sweden.

[not_the_one]

53. off topic... The Mist

a great interpretation of a Stephen King horror tale.

I don't know if I have ever hated a "so-called christian" as much as Marcia Gay Harden's character.

And Thomas Jane at his hunkiest.

[Hugin]

54. I've had the oddest relationship with this movie...

First off, it's the only Stephen King story I've never read and have only seen the movie.

But, odder still, for the longest time I'd only catch it on television half way through when everything had already gone to crap. Even when I was consciously planning to watch it, I would miss the beginning. Which, to see is really critical.

So, finally, I bought the disk. So much more disturbing in context.

[AtheistCrusader]

25. Total deaths, adjusted for population it's actually 10x

[Warpy]

26. Yet the rates aren't far apart, both over 200/1,000,000

which might be explained by the US's late response to the danger or the reluctance of dithering Republican governors to realize the gravity of the situation and call for restrictions.

NM issued strict restrictions long before Washington admitted there was a problem and our rate is more than double the average, 465 per million, largely due to a holocaust of it on the Navajo reservation and towns just outside it.

Restrictions are only a stopgap measure, at best, buying time to gear up production and distribution of necessary supplies to deal with a virus we can neither prevent nor treat. Producers did comply, but the administration has thrown a wrench into distribution by insisting on seizing supplies and micromanaging who gets them, and who gets them are generally not outside the government.

I don't know what the final numbers will look like in a couple of years, but I imagine the Swedish approach might not look all that much worse than Draconian restrictions followed by gradual opening.

I do know our numbers will be among the worst until we sweep out the heartless, gormless garbage in DC.

[exboyfil]

28. I think it is meaningless to compare us to Sweden

Germany is probably the best comparison, and it is not perfect. If we continue to run 2.6x the rate of Germany, then we have some explaining to do.

[Warpy]

30. The comparison is valid

between enough compliance to foul up the supply chain combined with epic governmental bungling and doing practically nothing.

The whole world has to reopen, has.to. The next year will tell the story whether or not the strict compliance to restrictions in Norway and Germany had a long lasting effect. Looking at past pandemics, my guess is no.

Would we be better off having done nothing at all? Of course not, suppliers have been doing their jobs and if the distribution had been not been fouled up by Orange Shitstain and his ntiwit son in law, we might actually be prepared to deal with this.

Comparing Sweden to Norway or Germany right now is short term thinking. This requires long term thinking and I sincerely hope I am wrong. However, past experience often predicts the most likely outcome.

[calimary]

3. Well, that seems to be working out well.

[jimfields33]

5. 3,100 deaths. To keep their economy strong. I hope it's worth it

Only thing is the United States will have a horrible death count and a horrible economy. Same with the rest of the world. Sweden might have to keep the EU financially stable since it will be the only country able to.

[gibraltar72]

10. Recent reporting suggests their economy will be hit harder than

other European countries.

[jimfields33]

23. That is weird.

I wonder why. If the United States stayed open and just went with the flow. Do you think our economy would be worse then now?

[IronLionZion]

27. People are less likely to buy stuff when surrounded by death and suffering

The more deaths, the more people who know someone who is impacted personally. In a consumer driven economy, people feel less likely to go out to bars and restaurants and shops in such an environment. So even if everything is open, plenty of people will choose to stay home to avoid getting infection.

My area is likely to open up gradually over the next few weeks, but I don't plan on going out unless I have to.

[jimfields33]

34. I get that.

I think some restaurants are open for 25 percent max capacity but I’d never go. I guess I feel like if we never closed would I stay home? I’m not sure.

[IronLionZion]

38. Many restaurants won't get enough revenue to cover their rent

and will be operating at a loss.

Consumers vary a lot. Some folks claim they are very gung ho about going out as soon as they can while many others will remain cautious and wait and see what happens.

[jimfields33]

40. That's true.

The whole things a mess. Sadly the world economy will suffer hard.

[Hav]

11. Concerning the economy,

even that might not be the case anymore with recent expectations that their economy's contraction will be comparable to other European countries.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213408059

[jimfields33]

24. That is so strange.

[DrToast]

29. Their economy is still suffering

[Hugin]

6. How's that eugenics Herd Immunity working out for ya?

One of the few things that used to set the human species apart from the lesser animals was to care for handicapped, injured, or aged members of the species.

Now? Not so much.

[dixiegrrrrl]

16. Didja notice it seems to be white privileged guys yelling for herd immunity?

They seem to think only poor POC and the elderly will fall into their magic number of 1-2%
deaths.

[Hugin]

20. I don't know what ever happened to the quaint concept of...

"noblesse oblige".

The prevailing zeitgeist now seems to be pounding the weak to dust.

Maybe it's time for modern society to learn what the Ancient Egyptians learned with the collapse of the first dynasty. Even though you think of yourself as a god, the opinions of others may differ. You only rule at the grace of those over whom you rule. The very first "Social Contract", if you will.

[jimfields33]

35. Two reasons

Less social security being spent especially Medicare and less democratic voters.


God help me. But I swear they think that. Ghoulish!

[jimfields33]

39. Muslims dying at highest demographic

https://www.google.com/amp/s/english.alaraby.co.uk/english/amp/news/2020/3/25/somalis-are-dying-of-coronavirus-in-sweden

[IronLionZion]

7. Herd immunity would be mandatory mass immunization

which is quite the opposite of the "kill the weak and vulnerable as quickly as possible" plan that the most malicious villains are promoting. The Sweden model is pain, punishment, and mass death, and should not be called herd immunity.

Any time anyone wants, they can easily compare Sweden's numbers against all their neighbors: Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland. They are demographically similar but one country has dramatically different outcomes than the others.

[jimfields33]

36. I heard Sweden's Muslim community is hardest hit. Not sure if true just heard that somewhere.

[IronLionZion]

41. Low income workers in general

so it disproportionately impacts immigrants and in the US it's also black Americans. That's the socio-economic factor.

Now there are also factors related to dying, like underlying health conditions, genetic conditions, etc. Where I grew up in Western PA, a lot of the white families are prone to blood clots. And we are seeing that play out with deadly results when they catch COVID-19. In some states that have coal mining, there are lung issues.

So Sweden's Somalian Muslim immigrants might have something like that involved as they are disproportionately impacted.

[jimfields33]

42. Good point about coal mining.

The whole thing is sad.

[Politicub]

8. So much Swedish success

How could anyone foresee how allowing people who have a highly contagious illness to congregate would cause more people to get sick and die?

[ibeplato]

9. 314 now

135 new deaths reported today per worldometer, they are now 6th among western non-micro/non island countries and have passed The Netherlands.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[Submariner]

12. FU Sweden. Now you've pissed off Mr spray tan and he will now do more to kill us

so he can be Number 1 again.

[jimfields33]

43. So funny. We typically use Sweden for showing positives of how a country should run

They are happiest in the world after all. I wonder if they drop next survey.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

44. Actually, they aren't the happiest in the world.

Finland is the happiest country in the world, with Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and The Netherlands holding the next top positions. Sweden is only #7. We are #19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report

[RobinA]

13. Sweden's Death Rate

and infection rate remains lower than quite a few other European nations. Not saying I agree (or disagree) with their approach, but let's be honest when we look at the numbers

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

15. But it's vastly higher than neighboring countries with very similar demographics,

social structures and health care systems. That's why comparing Sweden with Norway, Finland and Denmark tells us more than comparing it with Italy or Spain.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. Anders Tegnell probably should be publicly flogged.

But now the Swedes are claiming Norway and the other Nordic countries will catch up with them eventually because their lockdowns are just dragging out the process and everybody will get the virus sooner or later.

Johan Giesecke, an advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) and former state epidemiologist, thinks Sweden is the best in the world. Although the Swedish model has led to significantly higher death rates than in the other Nordic countries, he thinks it will even out.

"It is impossible to slow down, and will kill about as many people per inhabitant and country," he told the newspaper. Giesecke describes the virus as a natural disaster and says those countries that have closed society now will experience high death rates in the fall, winter and year to come.

https://www.aftenposten.no/verden/i/y32XKA/svensk-epidemiolog-tror-norden-vil-ta-igjen-sverige?

Really? Does he not take into consideration the fact that keeping some kind of lockdown in place protects people while buying time to develop treatments and vaccines and to increase hospital capacity so people who do get sick can be treated effectively?

[democrattotheend]

18. They probably will be similar over time

Remember, the point of shutting down was to prevent us all from getting it at once and overwhelming the hospital system, not to reduce the overall number of people who get it. It's too late to contain it. Sweden, from what I understand, was in better shape to begin with in terms of hospital capacity and therefore didn't have to shut down as much.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. Maybe most people will get it eventually, but slowing the epidemic down

while vaccines and treatments are being developed means fewer people will die of it. If I'm going to get it I'd rather get it a year from now when more is known about it, hospitals are better equipped, and better treatments have been developed, even if a vaccine isn't ready yet.

[w0nderer]

31. K & R N/T

[mitch96]

32. Where do they get these numbers..?

I went on the worldmeter tracking sight and there are about 6 countries that are worse than Sweden.. Worldmeter just showed 314/million for Sweden.
France 398/mil
UK 406/mil
Italy 500/mil
Spain 562/mil
Belgium 735/mil

What am I missing here??
m

[jimfields33]

37. You can only compare Norway and Denmark

That’s what I get from most here. No other countries are comparable apparently.

[mitch96]

45. "only compare Norway and Denmark"

Not to offend but, why? b/c they are nordic countries?? How about the Netherlands..314/mil
One less than Sweden... Is it a regional thing??
m

[jimfields33]

46. I agree

Just the common comparisons on here. I tried to compare the entire European Union and it was shot down.

[Steelrolled]

49. A lot of people have an agenda, political or otherwise.

Also people have to keep cranking out the news stories, even if there isn't much news.

[onenote]

47. Hasn't Sweden's per capita numbers been higher than the US for a long time?

I don't think this is a new development.

[Steelrolled]

48. My same reaction.

The US and Sweden has been running pretty close for quite a while, but a couple weeks ago, Sweden started to clearly pull away.

[rocktivity]

50. As South Korea and New Zealand can tell you

Last edited Sat May 9, 2020, 10:28 AM - Edit history (1)

Social distancing minus mass testing equals a suicide mission -- or should it called a genocide mission?


rocktivity

[DVDGuy]

51. Sweden admits failure to protect elderly in care homes

...

Sweden has reported 3,220 deaths from the virus as of Saturday.

The country said early on that shielding those 70 and older was its top priority.

Yet 90 percent of those who had died as of April 28 were over the age of 70. Half were nursing home residents, and another quarter were receiving care at home, statistics from the Swedish Board of Health and Welfare show.

"We failed to protect our elderly. That's really serious, and a failure for society as a whole. We have to learn from this, we're not done with this pandemic yet," Health and Social Affairs Minister Lena Hallengren told Swedish Television recently.

...

https://www.france24.com/en/20200510-sweden-admits-failure-to-protect-elderly-in-care-homes

[RhodeIslandOne]

52. A Trumpster on Twitter was saying "look at Sweden only 3,000 deaths"

And basically "old people and the weak can go fuck themselves". Such amazing people.