Sweden

Sweden records most deaths in 150 years in first 6 months of 2020

cde.news desk 20 August 2020, 09:45 · 1 min read

A woman wearing a face mask stands at a bus stop featuring a sign reminding passengers to maintain a minimum social distance between each other to reduce the risk of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes the pandemic COVID-19 disease, in Stockholm, Sweden. EPA-EFE/STINA STJERNKVIST

Sweden saw its highest death tally for 150 years in the first six months of 2020, the country’s statistics office has announced.

Coronavirus had claimed around 4,500 lives in Sweden by the end of June, representing a much higher proportion of the population than in neighboring Nordic countries.

Overall, 51,405 people died between in the January to June period, the highest number since an 1869 famine. The death count is around 10% higher than the average over the last five years. This is still less of an increase than those seen by the UK and Spain.

The country has been widely criticized for the limited restrictions put in place during the worst period of the pandemic. The death tally has since risen to over 5,800.

Sweden records most deaths in 150 years in first 6 months of 2020

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