The "Swedish"-Way #COVID19
As I have seen many media outlets and "thought-leaders" in Social Media pointing out the "Swedish Model" as a great strategy ... let me tell you about my last ca. 50 days in Sweden so far:
- companies send people to the home-office, where possible
- many restaurants close or only deliver, amusement parks etc. have closed
- government advised everyone to stay home but didn't make a law for it
- Shops have limited opening hours (only a few hours day) or closed entirely
- Until April 1 people could visit elderly homes - hence many deaths there that could have been prevented
- Military has build a field hospital to provide enough infrastructure
- many people wear masks, even without a law for it
- bill-boards are filled with warnings
problem is, that due to this "relaxed" approach:
- there are no government instruments like in Germany to secure jobs and liquidity (e.g. Volvo just announced another 1.600 layoffs, SAS will layoff HALF of their staff),
- startups don't get access to money,
- established businesses have to take "rescue" loans at 5% interest rate (compared to 0% in Germany for example)
AND
- mortality is much higher (Death per 1m pop. is somewhere between USA and UK)
- people don't take it serious enough and still gather in groups, meet for drinks and events
- OMXS 30 decreased 12.84% since the beginning of 2020
- Since March 1st, 95,455 people have registered as unemployed with the Employment Agency, according to new figures released on Monday. Sweden's unemployment rate currently stands at 8.0 percent, up from 7.4 percent at the end of January
=> not seeing how this is a thought-through or well considered approach?
Thoughts, Questions, Feedback?