In Sweden, it's proving somewhat tough to balance a sense of civic-minded independence with a raging virus.
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Sweden's gamble on coronavirus herd immunity couldn't work in the US — and it may not work in Sweden
- Sweden has been both praised and vilified for its more relaxed pandemic public health stance during the coronavirus outbreak.
- The country has adopted a strategy that relies on personal responsibility and willful obedience.
- Swedes are asked to stay home when they're sick with COVID-19, keep their distance while out in public, but otherwise carry on with life as usual, as much as possible.
- The strategy isn't perfect, and has exacted a deadly toll, but it's still worth looking at in its entirety, as others consider when, how, and whether to relax their own stay-at-home orders.
In Sweden, bars and restaurants are open to the public, you can go get a haircut, and primary school is in session.
The coronavirus has arrived, but life goes on.
The country has taken a lighter-than-most approach to social distancing for COVID-19, relying on people to monitor themselves for symptoms, stay home when ill, practice good handwashing, and avoid crowds.
You see very few masks on people's faces in current photos from Stockholm and other Swedish cities.
It's a strategy that hasn't been employed in neighboring Finland or Norway, and it's one that some Swedish parents (keeping their kids out of school) as well as doctors and scientists (writing open letters of protest to the government) do not agree with at all.
The ruling concept relies on a bedrock of trust between the government and its people, an expectation of willing obedience and a mindset of safety first, coupled with a desire to keep people healthy, both physically, and mentally.
"What every country is trying to do is to keep people apart, using the measures we have and the traditions we have to implement those measures," the Swedish public health agency's chief epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, recently told Nature. "The citizen has the responsibility not to spread a disease."
If anyone can have success with such a low-enforcement disease-fighting strategy, it may be Sweden. A sparsely-populated country of people who generally agree to follow the rules is certainly a better candidate than most others for this public health experiment.
But even in Sweden, the reality is that COVID-19 is a tough disease to corral, and the relaxed disease-fighting plan doesn't seem to be going as well as some officials there might've hoped.
Sweden is home to a culture of willing obedience
Sweden is a country of willfully compliant citizens, home of a so-called "consensus culture." It's a place that's birthed some of the world's safest cars, and most inoffensive furniture. Nearly everyone pays their taxes without prodding, despite the record high rates.
"People trust the government," American archaeologist and Scandinavian art history professor Nancy Wicker, who's traveled frequently back and forth between Sweden and the US for nearly four decades, told Business Insider. "It's definitely part of the culture to follow the rules, or guidelines, and to not be too pushy about it."
The Swedish prerogative asks citizens to act like adults, and then trusts that, left to their own devices, people will. The Swedish even have a word for this, folkvett. It translates, roughly, to "good manners," but really means much more, expecting that Swedish people will act appropriately and do the right thing, without being told, or if not, face severe public shame and moral judgement.
In the US, the land of "liberty or death!" and vociferous coronavirus protests, where individualism and independence are prized above all else, it's hard to imagine the same we're-a-collective disease-fighting strategy working as well.
A different interpretation of what 'a healthy society' means
sweden high school closed
Students study at home in Stockholm, as high schools in Sweden are closed due to the coronavirus, March 19, 2020. Jessica Gow/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images
The Swedish coronavirus strategy is rooted in a practical, grown-up sense of being in this fight together, and for the long haul.
"People want to get along, and not draw attention to themselves, which is really different than most Americans," Wicker said.
Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård once described the mindset at work here, Jantelagen, as "don't think you're special," and it applies to all Swedes (even movie stars and kings).
Indeed, Swedish King Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus said as much in a recent, rare national address.
"We must act responsibly and selflessly," he said. "Everyone in our country has this obligation. Each and every one of us. There is still a great deal of uncertainty. But one thing is certain: we will remember these times and look back on them. Did I think about other people? Or did I put myself first? We will have to live with the choices we make today, for a long time to come."
sweden king
Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf addressed the nation about the novel coronavirus on Swedish national public television, April 5, 2020. Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images
Sweden places a high importance on the rights of the child, stressing that children need time, space, and friends to play with, and that adults, similarly need go to work, not just to make ends meet and keep the economy chugging along, but to feel a part of the fabric of their society.
The Swedes are also seriously weighing concerns that have been taken as inevitable, if unfortunate, collateral damage in other countries, such as the mental health risks of being stuck inside, rising rates of abuse, and substance use disorders.
"It's good for people to be outdoors," Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde recently told Politico. "If you're locked inside there's risk of depression, domestic violence, alcohol abuse."
Swedish officials insist they are not sacrificing the elderly and the vulnerable, they are trusting people to be sensible
sweden coronavirus ppe
Nurse Renee Jarvalt puts on her personal protective equipment (PPE) on April 22, 2020 in Stockholm, Sweden. Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images
Other countries, including the UK and the Netherlands, originally toyed with the idea that a tight lockdown would lead to unrest, and that it would be more realistic to go for a looser approach, and to aim for herd immunity.
Both were accused of heartlessness: sacrificing the old and vulnerable to avoid anger over pubs closing. They backpedaled, and issued lockdowns. But Sweden has persevered.
This doesn't mean that the country is simply comfortable throwing away its elders, or that anything you might've seen in a horror flick like Midsommar about old people jumping off cliffs to get rid of themselves, is rooted in reality or history. ("Definitely not, definitely not," Wicker said.)
Rather, the comparatively lax strategy is about trying to create a sustainable set up that Swedes will respect long-term, leaning on a culture of asking and not telling.
"The health agency in Sweden, we have to remember this, their job is not just simply to deal with contagious diseases, they are concerned with the health of the population as a whole," Swedish historian Lars Trägårdh told Business Insider. "Whereas in Norway, Finland, Denmark, the politicians have the last word."
Sweden's Deputy Prime Minister, Isabella Lovin, told the BBC's Andrew Marr on Sunday "it's a great myth that Sweden hasn't really taken very serious steps" to limit the spread of the virus.
"Every country needs to take its own measures according to its traditions and its systems of governance," Lovin said, a nod to the fact that Sweden's public health agency runs independently, so politicians never get to make decisions about Swedish health.
"It's a real fear that if you have too harsh measures, then they can't be sustained over time, and you can get a counter-reaction, and people would not respect the voluntary recommendations that will need to be respected for a very long time."
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