Lockdown free Sweden records just 17 new deaths

SWEDEN recorded its lowest increase in the coronavirus death toll for almost a fortnight on Friday, with only 17 fatalities.

The country, which has rejected the tough social distancing restrictions favoured by many other nations, also saw a reduction in the number of new cases to 466.

The comparatively low human toll will inevitably lead to fresh questions about the wisdom of a strict lockdown in Britain and the devastating cost to the economy.

According to Sweden’s Public Health Authority, there had been 10,151 cases and 887 confirmed deaths by Friday.

While Stockholm and the Sörmland region have been hit hardest by the pandemic, people were yesterday still enjoying the sunshine outside cafes

‘Still far higher than in Denmark and Norway’

and bars in the capital. However, Sweden is still faring worse than its fellow Scandinavian nations, with the deaths per heads of population far higher than in Denmark and Norway.

Swedish premier Stefan Löfven admitted his country was not properly prepared for the pandemic, telling broadcaster SVT that it is ‘obvious that the country has not done enough’ and that restaurants not observing social distancing should be shut.

Elsewhere, two more deaths were confirmed in New Zealand, taking the total to three.

Brazil became the first country in the southern hemisphere to surpass 1,000 deaths. The country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, who has clashed with state governors over the seriousness of the virus, previously described it as a ‘little flu’ and claimed that Brazilians ‘never catch anything’.

In France, a manslaughter investigation has started after a homeless father-of-three died in police custody following his arrest in Beziers for breaking the coronavirus lockdown.