It became a popular media target:
Sweden is also criticized for its fatality rate which is higher than some but lower than others. As of today, the number Coronavirus deaths in Sweden is 5,667 which is considerably higher than its neighbors in Norway and Denmark but lower than Belgium, Italy, France, the UK and Spain. In other words, Sweden is somewhere in the middle of the pack. Interestingly, Sweden compares quite well to poorly-governed states in the US with similar-sized populations. Take a look:
- Sweden: No Lockdown
Population of 10.2 million
Coronavirus deaths ???5,667- Lockdown State#1: New York City??(Democrat Governor, Andrew Cuomo)
Population??? 8.3 million
Coronavirus deaths??? 32,133 (5 and a half time more than Sweden with 2 million less people)- Lockdown State#2: New Jersey??(another Democrat governor, Phil Murphy)
Population??? 9.2 million (1 million less than Sweden)
Coronavirus deaths??? 15,684 (nearly 3 times as many as Sweden with a smaller population.)- Lockdown State#3: Massachusetts??(another Democrat Governor, Charlie Baker)
Population??? 6.9 million #.3 million less than Sweden)
Coronavirus deaths??? 8,380 (1 and a half times Sweden???s total with 3 million less people.)
Perspective helps.
These are the real Coronavirus losers, the three states that are run by liberal governors who imposed counterproductive lockdowns that collapsed their economies, killed tens of thousands of people, and did nothing to staunch the spread of the infection. In contrast, Sweden has weathered the storm nicely, built up the public???s innate immunity and put the economy back on the road to recovery. Take a look:
???Unlike most European countries, Sweden didn???t impose strict lockdown measures. Now it???s reaping the rewards ??? economically speaking, at least.??A report from Capital Economics published on Tuesday found that the Swedish economy was the least harmed in Europe, describing it as the ???best of a bad bunch.???
Though Sweden was not immune to the pandemic???s economic impact, it was the only major economy to grow in the first quarter of the year, the report noted???.
???The Swedish economy has weathered Covid well, thanks in part to the government???s light-touch lockdown, and our forecast of a 1.5% drop in GDP this year is well above consensus,??? the economists Andrew Kenningham, David Oxley, and Melanie Debono wrote.??? (???Sweden weathers 2020???s economic storm better than anywhere else???,??Business Insider)
NYT not impressed.
Readers might want to compare the facts about Sweden???s economy with the spurious claims made by New York Times. Here???s an excerpt from a piece titled ???Sweden Has Become the World???s Cautionary Tale???:
???Not only have thousands more people died (in Sweden) than in neighboring countries that imposed lockdowns, but Sweden???s economy has fared little better.
???They literally gained nothing,?????said Jacob F. Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. ???It???s a self-inflicted wound, and they have no economic gains.??????
The elevated death toll resulting from Sweden???s approach has been clear for many weeks. What is only now emerging is how Sweden,??despite letting its economy run unimpeded, has still suffered business-destroying, prosperity-diminishing damage,??and at nearly the same magnitude of its neighbors.??????In short, Sweden suffered a vastly higher death rate while failing to collect on the expected economic gains.??? (???Sweden Has Become the World???s Cautionary Tale???,??New York Times)
Huh? So, Sweden ???gained nothing???, says the Times? Really??
Golly, you say, you saw nothing of this in your morning paper et al.?
Blithe Spirit 