Todays figures ( Sweden's extrapolated to match the UK population)
UK - 38659 cases - 684 deaths
Sweden - 40114 cases - 165 deaths
Sweden is not in lock down.
Maybe a better comparison would be between Sweden and its neighbour, Denmark, which is in lockdown?
Denmark (6m population) 139 deaths
Sweden (10m population) 333 deaths
https://www.ssi.dk/aktuelt/sygdomsudbrud/coronavirus
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/09f821667ce64bf7be6f9f87457ed9aa
If you extrapolate the Denmark figure to equal Sweden's population (and these are total deaths, not daily as I was referencing above)
Denmark - 7124 cases - 257 deaths
And the same to equal UK population;
Denmark - 45504 cases - 1638 deaths - in lock down
Sweden - 38720 cases - 2121 deaths
UK - 38659 cases - 3605 deaths - in lock down
We both know that number of confirmed cases is a product of testing so they are a less accurate indicator than deaths.
And as I pointed out, Sweden without lockdown has more deaths than Denmark with lockdown.
I'm not in a position to know which will turn out to be definitively best - lockdown or Swedish-style "not in lockdown". My gut feeling though is that cherry-picking stats to support opinion doesn't get us any closer to that answer.
Not cherry-picked....Sweden is the only country in Europe that isn't under full lock down (I think) so that's why I'm comparing that to the UK.
Also, 'confirmed' cases also include 'presumptive positive' cases (as stated by Johns Hopkins Uni and confirmed by the CDC - links on a previous post). Hence the numbers have been going up since last week the the Gov stated they were changing the way they compile the numbers.
Over the last 24 hours, the coronavirus alone killed about 50% as many people in the UK as would have been expected to die of all causes on a normal April 3rd.
There is no conceivable way that it only killed those who "would have died anyway". In the words of Boris Johnson, people are “[losing] loved ones before their time”.
There is also no comparison in any way, shape or form with the regular flu we experience every year.
I hope, no matter where you stand on the specifics, that much at least should be beyond dispute by now.
Many parts of the UK will see a mini heatwave this weekend. Please stay indoors (or in your own garden). Stay safe. Stay alive - and keep others alive too. It's a team effort!
If it turns out people overreacted, we'll know fairly soon and things can start getting back towards normalish with a LOT of new Government debt and help. Political heads will roll, but the cascade of "deaths before their time" will quickly come to a halt.
But if they didn't overreact at all you'll be on your knees thankful that people took action, and acted strongly. Because the alternative was a level of death that makes me shudder even to think about. The clampdown means that many many people may get to hug their loved ones tight in future who otherwise wouldn't have been able to.
the lockdown brought a realisation of how serious this situation is to many people who seemed to think it was no different to the flu. .
Now either the mainstream science approach taken by every single country (except Sweden - now never mention it again) is wrong, and everyone crashed the economy worse than during the Great Depression for nothing..
To me, it looks like cherry-picking because you have chosen to compare Sweden to the UK on headline figures without taking into account any other differences between the countries. If you had chosen Denmark and Sweden you couldn't be arguing the same case.
To repeatedly say UK with lockdown has more deaths than Sweden without lockdown is also misleading. The UK isn't in total lockdown and Sweden is not without restrictions (or people working from home without compulsion). Both nations have shades of lockdown.
If you want to kill off this thread, fine go ahead.
You have the power to do it right there at your keyboard just by throwing out more nonsense about how everything to do with this crisis is being faked, manipulated and lied about. That is pure selfishness, but you're entitled to be selfish if you want to. Nobody can stop you.
But I think (much of) this thread serves a genuinely useful purpose. And I hope you will choose to see sense and let it continue by backing off and parking all further wild allusions going forward. Take them somewhere else. But don't air them here.
The entire world economy has stopped. 10 million out of work in the USA in the last 2 weeks. 80% fewer international flights. Nearly a million more Universal Credit participants here in the UK. Everything you can think of closed, postponed or cancelled.
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Now either the mainstream science approach taken by every single country (except Sweden - now never mention it again) is wrong, and everyone crashed the economy worse than during the Great Depression for nothing.
Or, you know what, there really is something to this coronavirus.
Problem is, it's a totally unequal bet.
If it turns out people overreacted, we'll know fairly soon and things can start getting back towards normalish with a LOT of new Government debt and help. Political heads will roll, but the cascade of "deaths before their time" will quickly come to a halt.
But if they didn't overreact at all you'll be on your knees thankful that people took action, and acted strongly. Because the alternative was a level of death that makes me shudder even to think about. The clampdown means that many many people may get to hug their loved ones tight in future who otherwise wouldn't have been able to.
I still think it's still about the level of flu, just we're seeing what it would be like in a world without flu jabs
at about a third of those in serious condition are under 45.