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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/sweden-report-coronavirus-1.6364154
Sweden's no-lockdown COVID strategy was broadly correct, commission suggests
However, review commission also finds the country's response to the crisis was slow and sometimes confused
Thomson Reuters · Posted: Feb 25, 2022 11:14 AM ET | Last Updated: 44 minutes ago
Sweden should have adopted tougher early measures and the government assumed clearer leadership as COVID-19 hit, though the mostly voluntary no-lockdown strategy was broadly correct, a commission reviewing the country's pandemic response said on Friday.
Sweden polarized opinion at home and abroad with its handling of the pandemic, opting against the lockdowns implemented by many countries and adopting a largely voluntary approach of promoting social distancing and good hygiene.
The commission — set up by the government under pressure from parliament — said Sweden's broad policy was "fundamentally correct."
"It meant that citizens retained more of their personal freedom than in many other countries," the report says.
But the panel of eight experts, including professors of economics and political science, said the government should have taken clearer leadership and acted sooner when it comes to measures such as capacity limits and masks.
"The Government should have assumed leadership of all aspects of crisis management from the outset," the commission said in the report. It found the government had too one-sided a dependence on assessments made by the Public Health Agency.
"In February-March 2020, Sweden should have opted for more rigorous and intrusive disease prevention and control measures."...
Sweden's no-lockdown COVID strategy was broadly correct, commission suggests
However, review commission also finds the country's response to the crisis was slow and sometimes confused
Thomson Reuters · Posted: Feb 25, 2022 11:14 AM ET | Last Updated: 44 minutes ago
Sweden should have adopted tougher early measures and the government assumed clearer leadership as COVID-19 hit, though the mostly voluntary no-lockdown strategy was broadly correct, a commission reviewing the country's pandemic response said on Friday.
Sweden polarized opinion at home and abroad with its handling of the pandemic, opting against the lockdowns implemented by many countries and adopting a largely voluntary approach of promoting social distancing and good hygiene.
The commission — set up by the government under pressure from parliament — said Sweden's broad policy was "fundamentally correct."
"It meant that citizens retained more of their personal freedom than in many other countries," the report says.
But the panel of eight experts, including professors of economics and political science, said the government should have taken clearer leadership and acted sooner when it comes to measures such as capacity limits and masks.
"The Government should have assumed leadership of all aspects of crisis management from the outset," the commission said in the report. It found the government had too one-sided a dependence on assessments made by the Public Health Agency.
"In February-March 2020, Sweden should have opted for more rigorous and intrusive disease prevention and control measures."...
