Sweden's renegade COVID-19 policy looks like a disaster — but the country is quietly determined to see it through despite the cost in lives

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• Sweden avoided a full lockdown, instead introducing some rules intended to keep people working while protecting the vulnerable and the hospital system.
• But its deaths soared, its expected "herd immunity" outcome failed, and other countries are limiting the movement of people from Sweden when opening borders.
• Now, some Swedes are beginning to question the strategy, and other countries are managing eased lockdowns without a second wave.
• But Sweden says it is playing the long game, and its economy has suffered less than its neighbors.
• As a result, some experts say judgement over whether the strategy was right must wait. But Sweden is now left with a high death toll and worries about future outbreaks.
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In February, the month after the coronavirus was observed in China, and with only 45 cases in Europe, the Swedish government believed the virus would not be a big deal.

Johan Carlsson, the director-general of the Swedish Public Health Agency, then told Radio Sweden: "I think we are very convinced that we could contain this disease. We may get a couple more cases of course but we are not expecting a major outbreak.

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