As coronavirus pandemic has forced the world to go under lockdown, there is a country in Europe that is following its own way to handle the pandemic. The country is Sweden. Sweden has imposed a 'low scale' lockdown in the country. Sweden's strategy to keep large parts of society open is widely backed by the public. It has been devised by scientists and backed by the government, and yet not all the country's virologists are convinced.
The country unorthodox response to the coronavirus is popular at home and has won praise in some quarters abroad. But there was a time it had contributed to one of the world highest COVID-19 death rates, exceeding that of the United States.
What Is Sweden's 'low-scale' lockdown?
While most of the countries are going through nation-wide lockdown, Sweden opted for 'low-scale' lockdown. In Stockholm, bars and restaurants are filled with people enjoying the spring sun after a long, dark winter. Schools and gyms are open. Swedish officials have offered public-health advice but have imposed few sanctions. No official guidelines recommend that people wear masks.
During the pandemic early stages, the government and most commentators proudly embraced this “Swedish model,” claiming that it was built on Swedes’ uniquely high levels of “trust” in institutions and in one another.
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven made a point of appealing to Swedes’ self-discipline, expecting them to act responsibly without requiring orders from authorities. As per the World Values Survey, Swedes do tend to display a unique combination of trust in public institutions and extreme individualism. As sociologist Lars Trägårdh has put it, every Swede carries his own policeman on his shoulder.
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How Much Successful Sweden's 'low-scale' lockdown?
State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell at the National Institute of Public Health approached the pandemic with his own set of strong convictions about the virus, believing that it would not spread from China, and later, that it would be enough to trace individual cases coming from abroad. Despite Italy experience, Swedish ski resorts remained open for vacationing and partying Stockholmers.
22 of the country most prominent professors in infectious diseases and epidemiology published a commentary in Dagens Nyheter calling on Tegnell to resign and appealing to the government to take a different course of action.
India should not consider the Swedish Model:
The talks of Sweden's 'low scale' lockdown is doing rounds in India, as India's lockdown is ending on May 3. While Sweden's 'low-scale' lockdown might prove to be an example for India, however, the scenario of Stockholm speaks otherwise. Till now, India has done well to curb the containment and its zonal strategy has been proved to be successful.