Sweden grapples with high death toll after controversially refusing to lock down
Sweden’s controversial decision to refuse coronavirus lockdown measures is taking its toll — with the number of deaths up to 17 times higher than its Nordic neighbors, according to reports.
Fatalities in the Scandinavian nation topped 1,300 on Thursday — far worse than Denmark, Norway and Finland, which all implemented containment measures, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.
By comparison, Denmark has reported 321 COVID-19 deaths, Norway has reported 150 deaths and Finland has reported just 75, the data shows.
As the pathogen spread, Denmark and Norway reacted quickly to close borders and shut schools, while Finland closed most schools and contained its main urban region.
Sweden, on the other hand, called for citizens to hold themselves accountable for social distancing instead of ordering lockdowns, Agence Frances-Press reported.
“The authorities and the government stupidly did not believe that the epidemic would reach Sweden at all,” Bo Lundback, professor of epidemiology at the University of Gothenburg, told the outlet.
Cecilia Soderberg-Naucler, a professor at the Karolinska Institute, was among 2,300 academics who signed an open letter to the government last month calling for it to reconsider its approach.
“We must establish control over the situation, we cannot head into a situation where we get complete chaos. No one has tried this route, so why should we test it first in Sweden, without informed consent?” she said.
The country has seen more than 12,500 cases as of Thursday afternoon as the virus spreads to more than 2 million people worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins.
With Post wires
