Two weeks ago, I wrote about ‘The Swedish experiment’ in The Spectator. As the world went into lockdown, Sweden opted for a different approach to tackling coronavirus: cities, schools and restaurants have remained open. This was judged by critics to be utterly foolish: it would allow the virus to spread much faster than elsewhere, we were told, leading to tens of thousands of deaths. Hospitals would become like warzones. As Sweden was two weeks behind the UK on the epidemic curve, most British experts said we’d pay the price for our approach when we were at the peak. Come back in two weeks, I was told. Let’s see what you’re saying then. So here I am.
I’m happy to say that those fears haven’t materialized. But the pressure on Sweden to change tack hasn’t gone away. We haven’t U-turned. We’re careful, staying inside a lot more. But schools and stores remain open. Unlike some countries on the continent, no one is asking for ‘our papers’ when we move around in cities. The police don’t stop us and ask why we are spending so much time outdoors: authorities rather encourage it. No one is prying in shopping baskets to make sure you only buy essentials.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose state has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, said on “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday that the state “has flattened the curve” without “draconian orders” like other states.
DeSantis issued a statewide stay-at-home order earlier this month and was one of the last governors to do so in an attempt to curb the rate of infection in his state during the global coronavirus pandemic.
The FDA has authorized the first diagnostic test with a home collection option for COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.
A new coronavirus study in Santa Clara County, Calif., found the death rate of COVID-19 is far lower than previously thought, suggesting serious implications for the process of reopening the U.S. economy, according to one study's co-author, who holds an MD and Ph.D. in economics.
The protesters realize that we now have two types of patients: those afflicted by the coronavirus and those who have seen their economic livelihoods destroyed by the shutdown. Both matter. The longer we wait to get back to work, the greater the long-term economic damage we risk. How will we power our healthcare response during a depression and 30% unemployment? We need a plan to avoid this fate.
When it came to dealing with an unexpected surge in infections and deaths from SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing COVID-19 symptoms), federal and state policymakers understandably sought guidance from competing epidemiological computer models. On March 16, a 20-page report from Neil Ferguson's team at Imperial College London quickly gathered enormous attention by producing enormous death estimates. Dr. Ferguson had previously publicized almost equally sensational death estimates from mad cow disease, bird flu and swine flu.
The New York Times quickly ran the hot news about this new COVID-19 estimate...
