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(20 Sep 2020) While coronavirus infection numbers surge in much of Europe, Sweden has reported some of the lowest numbers of new cases, with only 14 virus patients in intensive care.
When most of the continent locked down their populations early in the pandemic by closing schools, restaurants, fitness centres and even borders - Swedes kept enjoying many freedoms.
The relatively low-key strategy captured the world's attention, but at the same time it coincided with a per capita death rate that was much higher than in other Nordic countries.
Whether Sweden's strategy is succeeding, however, is still very uncertain.
Its health authorities, and in particular chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, keep repeating a familiar warning: It's too early to tell, and all countries are in a different phase of the pandemic.
That has not stopped a World Health Organization Europe official from saying the continent could learn broader lessons from Sweden that could help the virus battle elsewhere.
According to the European Center for Disease Control, Sweden reported 30.3 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days, compared with 292.2 in Spain, 172.1 in France, or 61.8 in the UK, and 69.2 in Denmark, all of which imposed strict lockdowns early in the pandemic.
Overall, Sweden has 88,237 reported infections and 5,864 fatalities from the virus, or 57.5 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants since the beginning of the crisis.
The way Sweden's strategy was viewed outside the country seems to depend largely on what stage of the pandemic the observer was experiencing at the time.
Initially, many abroad were incredulous at images of Swedes dining with friends in restaurants or sipping cocktails on the Stockholm waterfront.
Some were envious that Swedish businesses were not forced to close.
Then came shock as the virus ripped through the country's nursing homes and hospices.
By mid-April, more than 100 deaths were reported each day in Sweden, while mortality rates were falling elsewhere in Europe.
Today, as fears of a second wave grow across Europe, it's fashionable to praise Sweden, with reporters from France, the UK and elsewhere traveling to Stockholm to ask about its success.
But a Swedish government commission investigating the handling of the pandemic will, undoubtedly, have hard questions to answer: Did authorities wait too long to limit access to nursing homes, where about half of the deaths occurred?
Were they too slow to provide personal protective equipment to staff in those homes when shortcomings in the elderly care sector had long been known?
Why did it take so long to set up wide-scale testing?
Tegnell also refuses to rule out a second wave in Sweden, and a particular concern is the return of students to high schools for the first time since March.
"We need to be very careful and find the first sign that something is going on so that we can do as much as possible to prevent it from escalating," he told The Associated Press.  
Localized outbreaks are expected, but rather than fight them with nationwide rules, officials plan to use targeted actions based on testing, contact-tracing and isolating patients rapidly.
"It's very important that we have quick and local response to hit down the virus without making restrictions for the whole country," Health Minister Lena Hallengren said at a briefing this week.
From the beginning, health officials argued Sweden was pursuing a sustainable approach toward the virus that the population could adopt — for years, if necessary.

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