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Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

    Sweden Refuses to Lock Down During Pandemic

    Sweden+Refuses+to+Lock+Down+During+Pandemic

    This pandemic has been extremely serious these last few weeks. Leaders everywhere are locking down to prevent the spread of Coronavirus  and the amount of lives it’s taking. COVID-19 has taken us by storm on a global scale, so everyone is pitching in and coming together… to social distance.

    Last week about 6.6 million people filed for unemployment in the U.S alone. People in other countries are also facing financial crashes. Companies are losing a lot of customers and businesses, especially small ones, are seeing a giant decline in profits.

    Meanwhile, while everyone is trying to stop the spread, Sweden has yet to shut down.  They have no restrictions or mandatory quarantines; bars, restaurants, fitness centers, and night clubs are all still in business and allowing customers.

    NPR interviewed Anders Tegnell, the head epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Sweden, to figure out why they haven’t closed anything so far. He states in the interview that they are, “Using common sense… informing them about what we need to achieve and then letting them, to a sort of extent, take their own decisions on how to achieve it.”

    Tegnell also said that Sweden has asked people to stay inside if they are not feeling well, to work from home if possible, and to stay at least 3 feet away from each other. All gatherings above 50 have been banned in Sweden, but really, that’s the only rule.

    Anders Tegnell believes Sweden’s methods are working. He feels it’s unnecessary to restrict people because, “Even if they’re not forced to stop moving around, they’ll still do it.” This means Sweden is not shutting down because they’re putting it up to the people to social distance themselves.

    Tegnell states, that although streets are not empty, there is definitely fewer people walking around.

     

     

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