Experts worked on detailed plans for staged re-opening after the lockdown. I don't know about Europe, but the US did not follow such a plan. Different states reacted differently, and politics had a bigger say in how reopening was done than any epidemiologist.
And Sweden wasn't exactly a success, and has done far worse than their nordic neighbors, say, Norway. The numbers do not lie here.
Belarus had a very effective plan - they tested far earlier and more often, and have far more hospital beds per person.
Straight up country comparison is just a fool's game. We will have to learn from this as best we can - what worked, what didn't work, where, and why. If everyone wore masks properly, was lockdown necessary? We need time to study and find answers.
> Sweden wasn't exactly a success, and has done far worse than their nordic neighbors, say, Norway
> Straight up country comparison is just a fool's game