If my math is right, Sweden thus far has lost 1 one hundredth of one percent of their populous to the virus and kept their economy intact and their schools open. We'll see in the end of it was a prudent decision but I don't doubt the USA being in a deep economic depression for quite some time well after the virus has run its course

First confirmed case of Covid 19 was January 19 - 78 days ago. Certainly flu season lasts more than 78 days. What is the flu death rate for the last 78 days?

It's still hard to say how this will turn out. Even though the Swedish govt. did not require businesses to close, many chose to close or work from home anyways. HS and universities closed, sporting events closed, airlines and public transportation greatly restricted flights and trains. Swedes traditionally have a very one-for-all-and-all-for-one society so they readily volunteer to self-isolate. Their economy is currently running at 50% or less but bars and restaurants are still open. A grand experiment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_Sweden

Party away and collect an early inheritance - double win for them!

It's early days, 1.48% of those with the virus are dead. They could have up to 500,000 deaths under the 'infect the herd' mentality.

The percentage of the populace that has died to date is hardly a usable statistic at this point.

Just a little. Thanks for a voice of reason.

The entire population of Sweden is 10 million. NYC is 18 million. It's tiny. What may work in Sweden may not work in other countries with significantly higher populations and densities.

https://khn.org/news/mysterious-heart-damage-not-just-lung-troubles-befalling-covid-19-patients/

Half of Sweden homes have one resident. Highest rate in Europe.

Hard to spread at home when no one else is at home.

Sweden’s economy is as interconnected with the global economy as any. We are starting a global recession, and Sweden will get hit whether they shut down or not. Their herd immunity approach will benefit specific parts of their economy (dining, retail, etc) for a period of time.

The chart does not correct for the size of a country. Comparing Sweden's number of new cases with the US without correcting for population is meaningless. OF COURSE the US has more cases.

Comparing the US to European Union, makes sense.

Or testing. The US has tested a higher % of the population. The more that are tested, the more cases that are found. 6,271/million vs 5,415

^^^Good Point!

Sweden is our Alabama or Mississippi, just wait a couple of weeks to see the result.

No kidding! Compare that to Italy where extended families gather every Sunday for big dinners with grandma and grandpa ... and lots of kissing ...

As I said in another thread where we talked about Sweden ... "herd immunity" is 70-80% of the people. There will be a lot of suffering if you need to get to that level in the first wave, without ANY established treatments. The UK had a similar approach but pulled the plug when they were starting to stare a quarter million deaths in the eye.

I still hope we learn something from Sweden's "soft closing" about how to turn back on some areas without causing a second wave?

G

As in any contagious context isolation and quarantine is the key. In many countries its made mandatory. In Sweden its a strong recomendation. As a people we are conformists and tend to rely on authorities and government. Hence the calculation from the health ministry is that we will reach basically the same level of isolation as in mandatory countries. In Italy a recomendation would probably be useless. Here it makes more sense.
No one can at this point predict which is the better strategy. And it probably differs in different populations.
An evaluation will probably take 1-2 years at least.

I am very eager to see the results of future testing immunoglobulin G and M (antibodies) to see how large percentage that has actually had the infektion. That will be very informative.

Take care, stay safe and stay home if at all possible.

The number of cases is not the relevant point.

This interactive charts the new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past week vs. the total confirmed cases to date. When plotted in this way, exponential growth is represented as a straight line that slopes upwards. Notice that almost all countries follow a very similar path of exponential growth.

OP supposed that Sweden has a superior solution, the graph shows they are experiencing similar increases in infection rates are not significantly different.

Sweden reported 96 new deaths today. Up to 687 total. 448 in the last 7 days.

Norway and Finland reported a combined 10 and a combined total of 133.

Corona viruses make up a good portion of cold viruses. As such, the expectation is that people who have and survive it are then inoculated against future contact. --just as it works for other colds and flu.

Of course this virus may do what viruses do, and mutate. It may also stay dormant, only to cause people problems later in life. (think chickenpox / shingles).

Something will kill each and every one of us. Maybe an asteroid. So, clearly, our only solution is to cower in fear. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...ool_shades.gif

Island:
That is not quite true. SARS and MERS ususally establish a 2-3 year immunity.

There are many Corona types that only establish a weeks to months immunity.

So this bit remains to be seen.

I didn't say, or mean to imply, indefinite future immunity.

And my post clearly indicates that we don't know how this will go.