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Sweden, mocked for avoiding lockdowns, now on fast track to become first herd immunized nation

August 9, 2020 | | Print Article

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Despite boasting the most lenient coronavirus restrictions in the globe, it appears Sweden is now on a fast track to become the first herd immunized nation.

According to the Daily Mail’s Ian Birrell, a former deputy editor for The Independent and speechwriter for David Cameron, the evidence can be found in the data.

“Anna Mia Ekstrom, a clinical doctor and professor of global infectious disease epidemiology at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institutet, said the key was to look at trends showing Sweden’s steady decline in cases and deaths since their peak in mid-April,” he reported Saturday.

“Prof Ekstrom believes Stockholm, currently down to ‘two or three’ patients in intensive care in its infectious disease hospitals, may be coming close to herd immunity as shown by the sustained fall in critically ill patients and fatalities – and that this is a consequence of avoiding lockdown.”

It’s therefore a consequence of Sweden avoiding the economically disastrous lockdown policies that have been applied by nearly every country on Earth, including the United States, where left-wing governors like North Carolina’s Roy Cooper have come to believe that the key to defeating the coronavirus lies in keeping people perpetually locked down.

Sweden’s willingness to challenge dubious status quo thinking on lockdowns and face masks has made it a target of the left, which has trotted out every argument imaginable to try and argue that the country’s approach was wrong.

This week, for instance, the media eagerly reported that Sweden’s GDP fell 8.6 percentage points in the second quarter of 2020, marking its worst decline in history.

Yet as noted by Newsweek, Sweden is still “in much better shape than [the] rest of Europe,” with its GDP drop being lower than the drops experienced by “Spain (18.5 percent fall), France (13.6 percent), Italy (12.4 percent) and Germany (10.1 percent).”

Meanwhile, as confirmed cases and deaths are dropping in Sweden thanks to the non-lockdown recommendations of State Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who’s basically the Anthony Fauci of Sweden (sans the glasses and mistakes), they’re rising sharply in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Belgium, France Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K..

Speaking with Birrell, Tegnell admitted that he’d been “shooting in the dark” when he advised against pursuing lockdowns but maintained that his goal all along has been to move forward with a strategy that’s sustainable for the long-run.

It’s the opposite of the strategy pursued here in the states, which is now suffering from economic instability, mass unemployment and unnecessary suffering.

“We have knowledge of the negative effects of closing schools so that was definitely in our thinking. Also to keep society open, keep unemployment down, make it possible for people to meet each other,” Tegnell said of Sweden’s strategy.

“We know that social contacts are a little bit dangerous in these times but they are very important for your wider health. It is necessary to keep a balance between stopping the epidemic and keeping people healthy.”

It’s a balance that zealots on the left refuse to consider, because in their eyes the only viable solution is to keep the American people caged like animals.

And unfortunately for those Americans who are willing to consider a balanced approach, there are a plethora of zealots in America, many of them on Twitter.

Observe:

“Phase 1” of America’s authoritarian lockdown strategy, which forced non-essential Americans to remain trapped at home all day, devastated the economy.

Of course, this isn’t to say that Sweden has been restriction free.

“Tegnell, who runs the response in keeping with the country’s political tradition of consensus and reliance on independent experts, urged people to socially distance, work from home where possible, and isolate if at risk or showing symptoms,” Birrell reported.

“Public gatherings of more than 50 people were prohibited – but barbers, cafes, gyms, restaurants, shops and schools for children under 16 were allowed to stay open. The compulsory imposition of face masks has been ruled out so far.”

For the most part, the Swedish government chose to trust the Swedish people to govern their own lives properly and keep the virus at bay. And it worked.

“To live in a democracy you need trust. The government must trust the people and the people must trust their government,” said Morgan Olofsson, a spokesman for Sweden’s Civil Contingency Agency, said to Birrell said.

Indeed, but that’s the sort of trust that it appears will never exist in America, thanks in large part to the authoritarian tendencies of some people.

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Vivek Saxena
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