Whither An Old Problem: Sweden, New York, and Problems with Elderly Care

People are going to die, and there is going to be economic pain. The final numbers of both are what has been, and still is being, negotiated.

Signs at the Sahlgrenska hospital emergency reception requiring virus patients to stay outside and call for help. Taken during Corona outbreak 2020. Photo by BIL via Wikimedia Commons

All the way back in April, Mike Siegel took to Ordinary Times to write about the issues that came with touting the “Swedish Model” that seemed to be far lighter on quarantines/shut downs than other European countries.

The post was written a week ago and was proclaiming Sweden’s approach a success. Since then, everything in the post has fallen apart.

The post touted Sweden’s COVID death rate of 40 per million as less than a typical flu season. It has now soared to, as of this writing, 90 per million, blasting past numerous countries, including the United States.
The post touted that Sweden had only 401 deaths to Switzerland’s 715. Since then, Sweden had soared to 899 deaths while Switzerland has slowed down slightly to 1106. Moreover, the number of new infections in Switzerland is falling while the number of deaths has plateaued. Sweden’s numbers appear to be rising.

The contrast to Norway, which is Sweden’s neighbor and has about half its population, could not be more stark. Norway adopted one of the most…