Is it fear / politics / bad science etc?
Is it fear / politics / bad science etc?
* Closing borders when we already have a pandemic in all countries. Swedish borders are still open.
* Closing schools when most evidence shows that it is not effective. Swedish schools are still open.
There is of course lots of debate about this in Sweden, some are worried that Sweden is not taking enough decisive action. There is however a wide-spread general support that the more measured approach in Sweden is a good one. Anders Tegnell has become a very popular public figure for his low-key bureaucratic but yet humoristic way of explaining the uncertainties involved and why Sweden is doing things this way.
I believe that the reasons these measures are taken in other countries is because it is a way to show strong political leadership in a time of crisis. I think this approach works less well in Sweden because people have very high trust in experts and (well-managed) authorities.
Edit: Run remotely, to be clear.
This recommendation is followed. The Swedish government cannot order schools to be closed (a law was quickly put in place in the case that this be necessary. I'm not sure that it pertains to universities, though).
Universities and what would be equivalent to high schools are doing distance learning, but lower grades are mostly open. The department of health has mostly cited two things for not closing lower grades.
1. Little evidence that younger people are the main vectors spreading the virus.
And 2. That if we shut down schools parents would need to stay home (and are encouraged to stay home via our social programs), and that would include a lot of healthcare workers placing our system under too much stress.