STOCKHOLM - There are signs that the death rate in Sweden is growing faster than elsewhere in Scandinavia, raising pressure on the government to abandon its controversial hands-off approach in tackling Covid-19.
But after a week of sobering data, Mr Lofven now seems to be striking a darker tone. In an interview published on Saturday by Dagens Nyheter, he warned that Sweden may be facing"thousands" of coronavirus deaths, and said the crisis is likely to drag on for months rather than weeks. Meanwhile, newspaper Expressen reported that his Social Democrat-led government may be seeking extraordinary powers to bypass parliament and force through a tougher response to the virus.
Sweden's top epidemiologist, Dr Anders Tegnell, says the goal in his country, like everywhere else, is to"flatten the curve" to avoid overwhelming hospitals. As of Thursday, he said that curve is"starting to become somewhat steeper, but overall" remains"fairly flat". But Covid-19 comes with so many unknowns that Sweden's approach has some of its own experts worried.
Meanwhile, the economic cost of shutting down an entire society has added another layer to the debate. But with much of the rest of the world going into lockdown, Sweden's efforts to keep its economy open aren't doing much to shield it from recession. In fact, some economists warn Swedish GDP may contract as much as 8 per cent this year, which would represent a far deeper crisis than in 2008-2009.
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