Sweden sees higher coronavirus death rate than US after refusing lockdown
Sweden has reported a higher death rate than the US after controversially refusing lockdown measures to ward off the coronavirus pandemic, according to the latest figures.
The Scandinavian country, which has reported 3,040 virus-related fatalities, has seen a death rate of 297.16 for every 1 million citizens, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The US, meanwhile, has confirmed 74,239 deaths — a rate of 226.33 deaths per 1 million people, the data shows.
Sweden has taken a more lax approach to battling the virus, leaving most schools, stores and restaurants open — and instead calling on residents to self-regulate when it comes to social distancing.
The result has been a higher rate of coronavirus fatalities relative to the size of the population than in neighboring countries — including Denmark, Norway and Finland, which enacted stricter measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
But Sweden still trails hard-hit European countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Spain, which all implemented lockdowns.
With Post wires