Is Lockdown Necessary? The Case of Sweden

There is plenty of controversy around whether or not nationwide lock-down was, and continues to be, the best option.

For proper risk vs benefit analysis, we would need to consider many factors, such as health risks associated with social isolation, increases in domestic violence, job losses, economic impact, mental health outcomes, and so on. For simplicity, this article focuses solely on Covid 19 and the data emerging from various countries.

Our World In Data has been tracking Covid 19 daily, in all countries, since its onset. The following graphs show how Sweden, a country that did NOT impose lock-down interventions, is faring next to countries that did.

1. Daily Confirmed Cases shows a “flattening of the curve” in Sweden, alongside everybody else

2. Daily Confirmed Deaths shows a flattening of the curve in Sweden, alongside everybody else.

3. Total Confirmed Cases per Million shows that Sweden has fewer confirmed cases per capita than several of the countries in lock-down.

4. Total Confirmed Deaths Per Million shows the death rate in Sweden to be fewer than several countries under lock-down.

NOTE: I have not included the Case Death Rate as the total number of cases is unknown due to lack of testing. As only 1% of the population in Sweden has been tested, the death to case ratio will appear extremely high compared to what the ratio would actually be.

CONCLUSION: it would seem that Sweden is not faring any worse than other countries who went under lock-down. Sweden’s businesses and primary schools remain open, and they have imposed much lighter restrictions. The best action for most countries would be mass testing, temporary isolation of those who are infected, and use of non-invasive treatments such as those that help reduce inflammation and tissue damage via the immune system.

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