Closure of schools during the pandemic was deemed an ‘inefficient policy’ since children do not face a high risk from the virus. Imposing restrictive lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic led to higher excess mortality in such nations while also damaging their economies, according to a recent Swedish study published in the Economic Affairs journal on Feb. 11. The study looked at the health and economic impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns in Sweden and found that Sweden’s less restrictive COVID-19 policies led to lower excess mortality contrasted with many European nations that imposed stronger lockdown rules. Sweden also suffered a lower negative impact on GDP growth during the pandemic period.
Researchers concluded that many policymakers made two key mistakes. They introduced lockdowns that were too stringent and had negligible positive health effects despite the evidence available at the time pointing towards the limited benefits of such broad measures. They also responded to the downturn in economic activity with fiscal and monetary policies that were excessively expansionary. The study examined the excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden between January 2020 and July 2022, comparing it to other European nations in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) group and found that Sweden and other Nordic countries had among the lowest cumulative excess mortality rates of all European countries.
Countries such as Finland and Norway, with the lowest average lockdown rate, show the lowest excess mortality, actually displaying a negative excess mortality rate. Nations that imposed more stringent lockdown measures did not have a lower excess mortality rate. For instance, school closures were likely an “inefficient policy” since kids were “relatively mildly affected by Covid-19 and were not a major source of the spread of the virus. The study also discussed the economic implications of lockdown measures, stating that countries with a higher lockdown rate displayed poorer economic growth. Sweden, with an average lockdown rate, still showed a weak cumulative GDP growth of 3 percent during the two years 2020-21, whereas other countries faced more severe economic losses due to their higher lockdown rates.
The study recommended that any response to a pandemic crisis in the future “should focus on the long-term perspective” and ensure that crisis policies do not cause more harm than good. Researchers also highlighted the long-term consequences of pandemic crisis responses, emphasizing the importance of considering the broader impacts of policy decisions.