Well, you know what they say about those Swedes . . . https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/10/europe/sweden-lockdown-turmp-intl/index.html
....I couldn't sleep last night and kept waking throughout the night. Eventually discovered "Beforeigners" on HBO. What does this have do do with the Swedes? I'm not entirely sure but it kept me entertained and is a surprisingly well done (at least the first two episodes) Scandinavian (albeit Norwegian) series.
The only advantages Sweden had are a sparse population and a good health system. But they squandered their advantage and are now going to pay the price. To wit: Louisiana: Population 4.7 Million///Covid-19 Cases 19,000///Deaths 755 California: Population 39.5 Million//Covid-19 Cases 19,400///Deaths 541 In simpler terms: one-tenth the impact. And why? Because good old liberal, social, progressive California took things seriously and put human life ahead of finances. Long-term instead of short-term. Imagine if the entire country was led with a coordinated, comprehensive plan. We might have been able to resume a more normal level of economic activity much sooner.
Sweden: Population 10,2 Million, Covid-19 Cases 10,483, Deaths 899. There were 99 new covid-19 cases today in the country, 83 in the Stockholm region. 22 confirmed deaths since yesterday, although that number is in all likelihood higher and more data will be available on Tuesday. The Public Health Agency updates its website daily, with new data. Here's the link, for browsers other than IE https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/09f821667ce64bf7be6f9f87457ed9aa
Current reports have them at a nearly ten-fold the fatality rates compared to their neighboring countries which did shut down. Thankfully they got really lucky and it wasn't far worse than that, unfortunately I'm not sure if luck is the word to use to describe an intentional act that led to a ten fold increase in death.
Sweden continues to out-pace the US, which is saying something. If California has Sweden's death rate, more than 8,300 Californians would have died from the virus so far. Instead, it's 1,651. Locking down the society early and in a disciplined fashion worked for those who chose to do it, and failed for those who did not. Had the US done it even 2 weeks earlier, tens of thousands of people would have lived who have--or who will-die from it. Now we even have states who are still on the upswing regarding cases and deaths deciding to ease restrictions. That's insane. Not only will it sicken and kill lots more people, it will (a) cause even more harm to the economy and (b) practically guarantee a resurgence of Covid-19 in the fall. You know, right around Election Day.
