COVID-19 Outbreak (Update: More than 2.9M cases and 132,313 deaths in US)
"Pushing deaths into the present" seems like really bad policy when the entire world is rapidly searching for therapeutics and a vaccine. If we discover next month that a combination of remdesivir and another antiviral reduces fatalities and long term health impacts by 90%, then what do the Swedish policy makers tell their people? There is a growing attitude of "accept the inevitability of this disease". It is defeatist and it's an attitude that can contribute to individuals and nations taking the same route as Sweden.
Denmark were one of the first European countries to shut everything down. We are also the country with the highest population density in all of Scandinavia (129 per km2), Sweden is second with 23 per Km2)
Yet despite this fact we have currently lost a little over 92/million inhabitants to Covid 19 and Sweden despite being far more spread out populationwise stand at 342/million
What they did here when they shut everything down in early march was to start an extensive information campaign. Simultaneously they passed a lot of emergency aid packages.
Employers who had to send their employees home could get the salary expenses reimbursed. Company Tax payments were defered for a year and many other aid packages all designed to make sure that as few people as possible would lose their jobs. They also waived all requirements that would usually be mandatory in order to get unemployment benefits.
We have never had a "real lockdown" in the sense that people would be required to stay at home, but non essential stores and shopping malls were shut as were all restaurants, entertainements etc... Those shops which were open used wide strips of tape to enact social distancing by marking lines 6 feet appart and making "one-way lanes" among the goods and boxes with latex gloves and bottles with rubbing alcohol available at the entry and exit doors.
The key focus here are social distancing. No isolation or lock down. My husband and I are both only a few years from reaching 60 years of age and we have both had serious health issues but despite that we have seen our daughter and grand daughter 4 times over the last 2 months. All four times has been outside, where we have spend a few hours in our local woods walking and talking together but staying 6 feet appart all the time. Even our 3 year old granddaugher has understood the situation and have learned to give "airhugs and kisses". Despite not being able to touch each other we have still managed to get some real quality time together. (but 6 feet appart)
Masks are not mandatory here and most dont use them - despite that our R0 is 0.7
What is emphazied are 4 things
Extreme hygiene. Wash/use rubbing alchohol whenever you touch something outside your own house and ensure that everything you bring home is carefully cleaned. Dont touch your face with your hands and dont go out if you feel even a little bit ill.
Social distancing. Emphazised everywhere. One way sidewalks, commuter trains where free seat reservations are mandatory to ensure 6 feet between every passenger, a bazillion signs all saying "keep your distance" and no gatherings of more than 10 people are allowed.
Work from home/stagered hours. If at all possible - work from home. Since many jobs CAN be done from home, many businesses are still business as usual. Other businesses used stagered hours so that instead of everyone working from 9-5 some would work from 6 to 2 and others from 2 pm - 8 pm. That again enabled the use of social distancing at the workplace and kept the business open.
Single point of entry if you got sick. If you experience symptoms which could be Covid-19, you just call a specific telephone number and you would be given advice about what to do, how to get tested and what hospital to check into if the symptoms were bad.
Now 2 month later we have less than 300 people in hospital with Covid-19, R0 at 0.7 and falling and are beginning to open things up again but under the strict admonition that if people stop following the "rules" then they shut things down again. Kids are back in school, hairdressers are allowed to open as are shopping centers and outdoor sports (no spectators)