STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Sweden should have adopted tougher early measures and the government assumed clearer leadership as COVID-19 hit, though the mostly voluntary no-lockdown strategy was broadly correct, a commission reviewing the pandemic response said on Friday.
Sweden polarized opinion at home and abroad with its handling of the pandemic, opting against the lockdowns implemented by many countries and adopting a largely voluntary approach of promoting social distancing and good hygiene.
“The Government should have assumed leadership of all aspects of crisis management from the outset,” the commission said in the report, adding that the Government had too one-sided a dependence on assessments made by the Public Health Agency.
“In February-March 2020, Sweden should have opted for more rigorous and intrusive disease prevention and control measures.”
The commission findings, initiated by the government amid pressure from parliament, could become a liability for the ruling Social Democrats with a general election due in September.
More than 17,000 people have died from or with COVID-19 in Sweden, far more per capita than among Nordic neighbours but less than in most European countries that opted for lockdowns.
(Reporting by Johan Ahlander; editing by Niklas Pollard)
