Sweden is doing great. So is New York.
You just have to ignore the fact that lots of people are dying there.
On a per captia basis, Sweden's death toll is about 30% worse than the US but total number of cases is about 34% better. Not sure that qualifies as great. Since Sweden's approach to testing is to test only police, fire, and medical workers, the numbers being reported may not be a good comparison with the US numbers.
But deaths are pretty definite.
Sweden, by it's own admission, was sloppy and infected several nursing homes. Their deaths spiked. Since that time they've leveled out.
They were brought up by someone else as simply NOT LOCKING DOWN. Not good...not bad, just what happened. They have taken precautions.
While their death rate is better than some, Norway and Finland are much much better than Sweden. Sweden is 319, while Finland and Norway are 40 and 49 respectively.
They are 26 or 27 in terms of cases. That would be reported cases. Sweden is 2,606 while Finland and Norway are 1,076 1,494 respectively.
Either Sweden is undertesting (and hence under reporting) or the cases are more serious and more people are dying. I recall early on that their percentage of serious/critical cases was a about twice the global average.
Maybe so. Sweden success to me just does not sound as good as reported. Very low population densities compared to the US and also cultural differences.
Cultural differences play a major role in the spread of an epidemic. Take Japan for example. They have 15,000 case with a population of 120 millon and the US has 1.3 million case with a population of 330 million.
That means cases per Capita in Japan are only 3% of that in US. Restrictions in Japan have been similar to the US but with less business closures and not near as uniform. So why the huge difference. Epidemiologists cite culture as a primary reason. First of all, Japan compared to the US is obsessive when comes cleanliness. Where only 1 in 6 Americans wash their hands before eating, in Japan hand washing is important part of any meal. Regular scrubbing floors, walls, hand railings, and other public facilities is not just for an epidemic; it's normal. Denying foreigners entrance to the country is deep seated in their culture and their history. When it comes to social distancing, the government does not have to force it on the people. This is something they always seek in such a crowded country. Wearing masks? Problems with pollution, and prior epidemics makes the order to wear mask unnecessary.
Italy in many ways is just the opposite of Japan. They are far more lax when it comes to cleanliness. In a country where hugging, kissing, handshaking is as natural as breathing, social distancing is difficult. Also, unlike Japan following government restrictions has always been taken with a grain of salt.