STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden, known for its soft-touch response to the coronavirus pandemic, recorded an all-time high on Monday for patients being treated in hospital for COVID-19, according to a calculation by the country’s state broadcaster.
Swedish Television (SVT) reported that a total of 2,389 patients, including those in intensive care, were receiving hospital treatment for the disease on Monday, 65 more people than on April 20, when the previous high was recorded.
SVT said three of Sweden’s 21 regions had not provided updated COVID-19 statistics on Monday and that it had used the last reported figures for those regions. The National Board of Health and Welfare, responsible for compiling health statistics could not immediately confirm the calculation.
Unlike most European nations, Sweden has shunned masks and official lockdowns, instead focusing on voluntary measures including social distancing and good hygiene.
Sweden has so far registered more than 7,500 deaths, a much higher per capita rate than its Nordic neighbours but lower than in several other European countries, including Britain, Italy, Spain, France and Belgium, which opted for lockdowns.
(Reporting by Johan Ahlander; Editing by Gareth Jones)
