Let's compare Sweden and France's COVID-19 numbers to see if France's drastic measures have produced lower case and death numbers than have Sweden's moderate measures. We'll do this by adjusting Sweden's numbers according to France's population size. So far Sweden has declined to take extreme measures. France began taking extreme measures on March 12 and is still under lockdown. France's population is 6.549 times larger than Sweden's. So we can see what Sweden's numbers would be if Sweden's population were the same size as France's population. We will see that Sweden's approach has been much more successful than France's approach.
Here are the NON-adjusted numbers:
SWEDEN--CASES/DEATHS ---- FRANCE--CASES/DEATHS
March 18 --- 1,167/3 ------- 7,652/175
March 22 --- 1,746/20 ---- 14,296/562
March 25 --- 2,272/36 ---- 22,025/1,100
March 28 --- 3,046/92 ---- 34,542/1,992
April 02 --- 4,947/239 ----- 56,261/4,019
April 07 --- 7,206/477 ----- 73,488/8,896
Sweden's numbers multiplied by 6.549 to match France's population size:
SWEDEN--CASES/DEATHS ------ FRANCE--CASES/DEATHS
March 18 --- 7,643/20 --------- 7,652/175
March 22 --- 11,435/131 ----- 14,296/562
March 25 --- 14,879/236 ----- 22,025/1,100
March 28 --- 19,948/603 ----- 34,542/1,992
April 02 ----- 32,398/1,565 --- 56,261/4,019
April 07 ----- 47,192/3,124 ----73,488/8,896
Thus, as of yesterday, if we assume Sweden's population is the same size as France's and adjust Sweden's numbers accordingly, Sweden had 47,192 cases to France's 73,488 cases, and Sweden had 3,124 deaths to France's 8,896 deaths. Clearly, France's extreme measures have not worked as well as Sweden's moderate measures.
I wanted to do this comparison because it is now certain that within the next few days Sweden will adopt many of the extreme measures that some other nations have adopted. Why? Because Sweden has seen a sharp rise in COVID-19 deaths over the last six days (most of them among the elderly) and because other EU nations and many scientists have been pressuring Sweden for weeks to take extreme measures.
Even though Sweden's COVID-19 deaths are still only a tiny fraction of the population, the psychological effect of the increase in deaths, coupled with the pressure to adopt stricter measures, has persuaded a majority of Sweden's leaders to abandon their moderate approach, and they are now discussing taking stronger measures.
Sweden made only one big mistake in its moderate response to the virus: Sweden did not impose any restrictions on the elderly. Most of Sweden's COVID-19 deaths--about 83%--have been among people aged 70 and above. If Sweden had imposed strict measures on the elderly, its number of deaths would be vastly lower.
Here are the NON-adjusted numbers:
SWEDEN--CASES/DEATHS ---- FRANCE--CASES/DEATHS
March 18 --- 1,167/3 ------- 7,652/175
March 22 --- 1,746/20 ---- 14,296/562
March 25 --- 2,272/36 ---- 22,025/1,100
March 28 --- 3,046/92 ---- 34,542/1,992
April 02 --- 4,947/239 ----- 56,261/4,019
April 07 --- 7,206/477 ----- 73,488/8,896
Sweden's numbers multiplied by 6.549 to match France's population size:
SWEDEN--CASES/DEATHS ------ FRANCE--CASES/DEATHS
March 18 --- 7,643/20 --------- 7,652/175
March 22 --- 11,435/131 ----- 14,296/562
March 25 --- 14,879/236 ----- 22,025/1,100
March 28 --- 19,948/603 ----- 34,542/1,992
April 02 ----- 32,398/1,565 --- 56,261/4,019
April 07 ----- 47,192/3,124 ----73,488/8,896
Thus, as of yesterday, if we assume Sweden's population is the same size as France's and adjust Sweden's numbers accordingly, Sweden had 47,192 cases to France's 73,488 cases, and Sweden had 3,124 deaths to France's 8,896 deaths. Clearly, France's extreme measures have not worked as well as Sweden's moderate measures.
I wanted to do this comparison because it is now certain that within the next few days Sweden will adopt many of the extreme measures that some other nations have adopted. Why? Because Sweden has seen a sharp rise in COVID-19 deaths over the last six days (most of them among the elderly) and because other EU nations and many scientists have been pressuring Sweden for weeks to take extreme measures.
Even though Sweden's COVID-19 deaths are still only a tiny fraction of the population, the psychological effect of the increase in deaths, coupled with the pressure to adopt stricter measures, has persuaded a majority of Sweden's leaders to abandon their moderate approach, and they are now discussing taking stronger measures.
Sweden made only one big mistake in its moderate response to the virus: Sweden did not impose any restrictions on the elderly. Most of Sweden's COVID-19 deaths--about 83%--have been among people aged 70 and above. If Sweden had imposed strict measures on the elderly, its number of deaths would be vastly lower.