Did Sweden's Non-Lockdown Succeed?
Despite never implementing a country-wide lockdown, Sweden has managed to flatten its COVID-19 disease fatality curve, prompting its health leadership to declare an early victory. Sweden relied on individual responsibility ... instead of governmental coercion to achieve results.
A study published on June 29, 2020, indicates that public immunity to COVID-19 disease in Sweden is probably significantly higher than antibody tests have suggested,” said Professor Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, at the Center for Infectious Medicine, Karolinska Institutet.
And, If flattening the fatality curve was the primary goal, Sweden was largely a success said Fee.org. As of July 31, 2020, Sweden had confirmed 5,733 COVID-19 related fatalities. But the rate has rapidly declined over the past month.
Meanwhile, Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s top infectious disease expert, stated: “I’m looking forward to a more serious evaluation of our work, as there is no way of knowing how this ends.”