Many thanks indeed for your very honest reply. Would it be reasonable then to say that direct comparisons between the U.K. and Sweden are difficult to make?
Yes; it is always difficult for direct comparisons to be made with any country.
However we can look at other countries to see what measures did or didn't work for them; likewise if anyone (e.g. Prof Ferguson) creates a model to predict infections then the model can be applied (by altering the relevant parameters, as appropriate) to another country and indeed this was done for Sweden and the conclusion was that the model was flawed.
Based on the research I have made, certain measures appear to have a much bigger impact on reducing the spread than others. Full lockdowns have disproportionately negative effects without being much more effective than a more measured approach, such as closing the places where spread is more likely to occur.
For example I have been playing football at every opportunity between September and December with around 60 other people in total (around 12 to 18 on each occasion) as well as regularly going for walks with up to 5 other people throughout the 6 months or so that this was allowed, and none of these outdoor activities was linked with spread of the virus and yet these are now inexplicably banned.
I think some other countries have done things that have been shocking (e.g. Spain) while others have been sensible (e.g. Sweden) and I think we can learn from other countries, but the most challenging part of any comparison is when looking at death rates, as this is going to be so different between each country for so many reasons.
Anyone making comparisons needs to do so with care; one of the laziest comparisons is where people lump Sweden in with "other Nordic countries" with no understanding of how cities in Sweden differ so vastly from those in most other Nordic countries.
It’s a genuine question since Sweden has so often been quoted as a shining example. I have to be honest and say I would much prefer the ‘sipping lattes in the park whilst unconcerned’ option!
I would say that Sweden is a good example of taking it seriously but without going too far, thus protecting physical and mental wellbeing and avoiding too much harm to the economy.
I wouldn't say that Sweden and the people of Sweden are unconcerned but they are not so disproportionately concerned about Covid that other issues get ignored, which is the case with the UK strategy.
Completely agreed. As an aside, I sometimes catch the train to work and had some interesting responses recently when I posted a picture online. It would have to be quite some virus for me to have been a super spreader standing on an empty platform
Indeed; what bugs me with a lot of the UK restrictions - and where this differs to Sweden's approach - is that a lot of what we do is based on authoritarianism rather than any valid consideration of spread of the virus.
There is a lot of demonisation of public transport in the UK, which does not exist in Sweden.