Via the WSJ, “The Swedish #Covid-19 experiment is over”:
The Swedish #Covid-19 experiment is over. After a severe second #coronavirus wave – which authorities said won’t happen – the government imposed some mandatory restrictions to curb hospitalisations and deaths. My report via @WSJ https://t.co/2vWGwf57yz
— Bojan Pancevski (@bopanc) December 6, 2020
The country has begun to implement mandatory restrictions to slow the spread of the virus:
After a surge in Covid-19 infections led to rising hospitalizations and deaths, Sweden has abandoned its attempt—unique among Western nations—to combat the pandemic through voluntary measures alone @WSJ https://t.co/ygFQyL3vvI
— Bojan Pancevski (@bopanc) December 6, 2020
According to the WSJ, infections are “growing exponentially”:
With total Covid-19-related deaths reaching almost 700 per million inhabitants, infections growing exponen-tially and hospital wards filling up, the government had to shift https://t.co/aCHMe79Bt4
— Bojan Pancevski (@bopanc) December 6, 2020
Sweden has a much higher death count than its neighbors:
Last week Sweden’s total coronavirus death count crossed 7,000. Neighboring Denmark, Finland and Norway, all similar-sized countries, have recorded since the start of the pandemic 878, 415 and 354 deaths respectively https://t.co/F7v0yXnfTo
— Bojan Pancevski (@bopanc) December 6, 2020
The government had hoped to avoid lockdowns. . .
Tegnell said lockdowns were unsustainable and unnecessary, discouraging mask-wearing as the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, a #EU agency whose headquarters are located near his office, recommends wearing them https://t.co/Tq9PkbOufd
— Bojan Pancevski (@bopanc) December 6, 2020
. . .and that they could ease into herd immunity:
Tegnell predicted that Swedes would gradually build immunity to the virus through controlled exposure, that vaccines would take longer than expected to develop, and that death rates across the West would converge. https://t.co/YaAXPb3IcK
— Bojan Pancevski (@bopanc) December 6, 2020
But now they’re switching course:
Instead, a coronavirus vaccine was authorized last week, Sweden’s death rate remains an outlier among its neighbors, and Tegnell acknowledged in late November that the new surge in infections showed there was “no sign” of herd immunity https://t.co/YaAXPb3IcK
— Bojan Pancevski (@bopanc) December 6, 2020
Also, the voluntary lockdowns that kept the country open did not translate into a better economy:
Sweden’s laissez-faire pandemic strategy has failed to deliver the economic benefits its proponents had predicted. In the first half of the year, GDP fell by 8.5% and unemployment is projected to rise to nearly 10% in the beginning of 2021 https://t.co/gvh9DnGulK
— Bojan Pancevski (@bopanc) December 6, 2020
Sweden vs. its neighbors:
Despite the lack of lockdown, Sweden’s economic performance has not been better than that if it’s neighbors https://t.co/Qp71BkNUgA pic.twitter.com/1t0h7pVuTJ
— Bojan Pancevski (@bopanc) December 6, 2020
Anders Tegnell, the Swedish version of Anthony Fauci, remains popular in the country:
Anders Tegnell, the face of Sweden’s pandemic management, remains hugely popular, despite his wrong predictions & opposition to masks. People have tattooed his visage, made it into Christmas decorations, and baked life-sized gingerbread cakes in his image https://t.co/NcNb5CahU7 pic.twitter.com/b0RRsdoiwz
— Bojan Pancevski (@bopanc) December 6, 2020
Stil no mask mandate, though:
? Despite the high infection and mortality rates, Sweden is refusing to mandate masks. EU’s, @ECDC_EU (based in Stockholm!) is recommending masks, as do the @CDCgov in the US, the @WHO and Sweden’s own @vetenskapsakad that awards the Nobel Prize https://t.co/eH6ezqCwno
— Bojan Pancevski (@bopanc) December 6, 2020
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