Sweden will have its highest death toll in 150 years in the first half of 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the country’s official Bureau of Statistics.
The Scandinavian nation, which refused to implement a COVID-19 lockdown, reported 51,405 deaths between January and June – the highest number of deaths in the first half of a year since 1869, according to CNN.
That figure is roughly 6,500, or 15 percent, more than the same period last year.
In the first half of 1869, 55,431 people died when Sweden was hit by widespread famine due to poor harvests. The severe famine caused many desperate citizens to emigrate to the US.
When the coronavirus spread across Europe earlier this year, Sweden was one of the few nations that refused to implement an official lockdown – instead emphasizing personal responsibility to fight the pandemic and opt for herd immunity.
But the relaxed approach – which saw most bars, schools, restaurants and salons remain open – does not seem to have worked, CNN noted.
Only 7 percent of the people in Stockholm had developed the antibodies needed to fight the virus by the end of April, well below the 70 to 90 percent required for herd immunity.
The country also saw the lowest population growth since 2005, with only 6,860 babies born in the first half of 2020 – less than half of the previous year, according to CNN.
In June, Sweden’s chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell acknowledged the country’s public health agency “did not know there would be such great potential for the disease to spread to elderly care homes, with so many deaths.”
The total death toll from Sweden from COVID-19 stands at 5,805 on Thursday afternoon, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
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