According to the European CDC, Sweden has an infection rate of 37 cases per 100,000 people - far lower than France's 60 per 100,000 and Spain's 152.7 cases per 100,000 despite imposing months of lockdowns of varying degrees.
And while the New York Times (in July) and MarketWatch (in June) said that Sweden's economy is doing 'just as bad' as countries which imposed lockdowns, the BBC pointed out earlier this month that Sweden's economy 'only' contracted 8.6% in the April-June period vs. the previous three months, while the European Union saw a contraction of 11.9% over the same period based on newer economic data.
Meanwhile, lockdowns and the ensuing economic fallout have had a significant impact on mental health.
A new approach?
As Sweden's model for dealing with COVID-19 appears to have survived its trial by fire, other countries are now rethinking blanket lockdowns as they weigh the economic impacts against health risks, according to the Wall Street Journal. Some of their thinking agrees with Sweden's, while several points of disagreement exist. The Journal also notes that "Sweden’s current infection and death rates are as low as the rest of Europe’s, suggesting to some experts the country may be close to herd immunity."
No comments:
Post a Comment