The Swedish model: a Scandinavian outlier tackles Covid-19 its own way

Rather than impose social distancing measures and force businesses to close, the Scandinavian country has taken a hands-off approach – with deeply mixed results

As of Thursday, more than 1,300 people had died from Covid-19 in Sweden, while there were more than 12,500 confirmed cases, as numbers surged. Picture: Getty

Sweden has been an outlier in Europe, and indeed most of the world, with its approach to Covid-19. Instead of the widespread social restrictions and mass business closures imposed by most countries impacted by the pandemic, it chose a more hands-off approach, depending largely on individual responsibility to maintain social distancing to stem the spread of the virus.

Initial restrictions were minimal compared to its European neighbours. The Swedish government recommended refraining from non-essential travel, ...