Sweden's no-lockdown COVID strategy was broadly correct, commission suggests

 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."

'Remarkable' delay in indoor caps cited

The findings could become a liability for the ruling Social Democrats with a general election due in September. More than 17,000 people have died from or with COVID-19 in Sweden, far more per capita than among Nordic neighbours but less than in most European countries that opted for lockdowns.

Figures from statistics agency Eurostat showed the country had 7.7 per cent more deaths in 2020 than its average for the preceding four years, among the lowest excess mortality rates in Europe.

"In the light of current knowledge … the Commission is not convinced that extended or recurring mandatory lockdowns, as introduced in other countries, are a necessary element in the response to a new, serious epidemic outbreak."

Moreover, the report argues the "right balance" was struck in terms of the education sector. Preschool and elementary schools were kept open, with universities and the equivalent of high schools switched to remote learning.

But a number of criticisms were levelled at the central government and its main public health agency, including in areas concerning preparedness and unclear jurisdictional lines.

"In a crisis, there must be no uncertainty about who is in charge," the experts wrote.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/sweden-report-coronavirus-1.6364154