so how's sweden doing? that was supposed to be test case that conservatives were bragging about doing great despite not taking any of the precautions we're taking here.
Covid-19 cases in Sweden
We have roughly ten times as many deaths (currently ~6K) compared to our neighbors and our economy still suffered a lot. As VomKriege mentioned most deaths are from retirement/nursing homes. The health care system has been strained but never ran out of ICU beds.
I expect another wave of outbreaks this fall when kids are back in school, many adults have to return to the office, and travel opens up to the rest of the world again. Neither face masks or social distancing are being used by most people.
why is the government so hesitant to tell people to wear face masks? like, not even talking about enforcing them legally, just offering a suggestion?
The government isn't issuing recommendations, only enforcing the recommendations coming from the apolitical Public Health Agency. So far, their line is that there isn't enough data proving that mandated mask use for the general population is substantially more efficient than the measures that are already being taken. Masks are still required for air travel and recommended for rail travel.
Right now our infectivity is at its lowest since late March/early April and death rates are still trending down. ICU numbers have stabilised at ~40 patients nationwide, with a change in how the statistics are measured. The downward trend can probably be largely attributed to our industrial vacation season: country pretty much shuts down in July, so offices are mostly empty and public transport in the bigger cities is not nearly as congested.
Also, Sweden's attendance limit for public events/gatherings stands firm at 50 people, while most of our neighbours have raised it to 500.
We'll see what August brings, when people start going back to work again, and some schools are reopening.
