Sunday, 22nd December 2024

No lockdown in Sweden, people roaming freely amid COVID-19 crisis

People are roaming around freely on streets and dine in in restaurants is still operating despite the fact that the country has similar COVID-19 situations as the United Kingdom.

Wednesday, 1st April 2020

While one-third of the global population is under lockdown, and the situation continues to worsen in Italy and Spain. But, Sweden is still considering shutting down an insignificant decision amid Coronavirus crisis.

People are roaming around freely on streets and dine in in restaurants is still operating despite the fact that the country has similar COVID-19 situations as United Kingdom. Experts state social-distancing it the only way to reduce the spread of COVID-19, while life continues normally in the country.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Sweden has exceeded 4,000, with 146 deaths after catching the virus. Sky News reported that there are 39.6 reported cases per 100,000 of the Swedish population, which is comparable to the UK's case rate of 33.8 per 100,000 people.

However, the country still has much lesser reported cases than other countries in the continent, mainly Italy and Spain.

As per statistics, Sweden spends a large amount of money on the public health sector in the entire Europe region.

On Friday, the Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven cautioned the people that there could be 'more tough weeks and months' ahead.

Despite having more reported cases than the UK, which is under partial lockdown, Sweden has considerably remained welcoming for business during the coronavirus outbreak, with many bars, shops and restaurants still entertaining customers.

The Swedish government has announced people over the age of 70 years to self isolate themselves, and other restrictions like the gathering of over 50 people are prohibited in the country. The government also has restricted visits to care homes for the elderly.

Lindsay Wiley, a health law professor at the Washington College of Law, says "lockdown" isn't a specific term used by public-health officials, and it can refer a compulsory geographic quarantine to non-mandatory instructions to stay at home, closings of several kinds of businesses, or prohibitions on events and parties.