During this coronavirus pandemic, Sweden has taken a different direction in how they are handling things. Instead of mandated stay at home orders and other rules being set by the government, authorities have instead trusted the common sense and judgment of their citizens. The Swedish government has told the people to "use common sense" and to not gather in crowds of over 50 people. Unlike the rest of the world, Sweden seems to be dealing with Covid-19 in a very relaxed manner. Schools, bars, restaurants, and stores are all open leaving people roaming around with or without the virus. The government's reasoning for this is that they want people to keep getting the virus in order to slow the pace of the virus and ultimately to build "herd immunity". Most people who contract the virus will experience mild or no symptoms at all. This happens to be a good approach as it strives to infect healthy people in order to develop antibodies but higher risk groups need to be protected which Sweden failed to do in the beginning. Nursing homes were swept with many cases and fatalities due to the fact that masks and other precautions weren't mandatory until later on. The fatality rate in Sweden is around 12% but it is expected to drop substantially once more cases are confirmed and the same goes for around the world. Experts around the world expect fatality rates to fall and the WHO projects that 2%-3% of the world's population has developed antibodies. As more people continue to be tested for the virus and antibodies, governments around the world will begin to have a better idea as to what the real severity of this virus may be.
Source: https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200501/sweden-sticks-with-controversial-covid19-approach
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