WHO Expert Calls Sweden, Which Never Enforced a Lockdown, “Model to Follow”

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – After adopting a controversial strategy to fight the novel coronavirus, Sweden was referred to by Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) and an emergency health expert, as “a model for fighting [covid-19]”.

During the period between March and April, Sweden refused to implement specific laws for quarantine and social isolation.

In place of the harsh regulations of other Scandinavian countries (the northern European region that includes Denmark, Norway and Sweden), the Swedish government proposed a public policy based on understanding, care and safety with others – a form of social isolation based on citizenship, not on fines or severe regulations.

“There is an assumption that Sweden failed to establish control measures and allowed the disease to spread, but that could not be further from the truth,” Ryan said.”[The country] has created a very tough public policy of social distancing based on caring for and protecting hospitalized patients.

The difference was trust in citizenship and the individual ability of citizens to impose social distancing and appropriate care [against infection],” the doctor said in a press conference.

The different approach to dealing with the pandemic was criticized by academics and intellectuals in the country, who wrote an open letter to the government calling for a hardening of measures against the novel coronavirus.

The document collected over 2,300 signatures. Sweden reported a higher number of cases compared to its neighbours, who adopted regulatory measures by means of decrees. There were 20,300 cases and 2,462 deaths.

“If we don’t want a society that needs lockdowns, we should look to Sweden as the representative of an action model,” Ryan added.

Differences

However, the country is very different from the rest of the world. Sweden has a population of around 10.3 million, and a gross domestic product (GDP) of approximately US$528 billion.

The country has an average annual income of US$54,600 per person – approximately R$300,000. Sweden is among the top ten countries with the happiest population in the world, and also with the greatest economic freedom.

The average tax paid by Swedish citizens is around 32 percent of individual earnings, which makes the country one of the most expensive for taxpayers.

Source: Agência Brasil