[Goose]

Now, the real question is whether the US would have been better off just following Sweden's approach, if there is an acknowledgment that probably couldn't have gotten the population to take a Germany/Denmark/Norway approach.

BC

I think the answer is probably we would not have been better off. As the article pointed out, Swedes follow the regulations precisely. If you have fewer regulations to reduce the spread of disease, in order to have any chance at all of keeping spread under control those few regulations must be followed. In  the USA, even if we had fewer, less invasive restrictions, IMHO the remaining regulations would not have been followed "religiously" and we wouldn't replicate even Sweden's death rate.
I think that the situation in New York got so bad so rapidly that a lockdown there was essential. Sweden never had to deal with that level of initial spread. It could be argued that the Bay Area would have been able to escape an initial lockdown and do OK. However, we are now de facto in a "Sweden Lite" model and aren't doing so well, so I wonder about even that. We are nowhere near opening the schools. It may be we could do that without a big increase in cases, but for some reason I doubt it. 

I have done business in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. It is true that while there are similarities, there are differences, as the article points out. There are also many others not highlighted in the article. I have never sold anything to the Finns. FWIW, Denmark is the only country where I have ever been berated for NOT walking against the pedestrian light. The explanation was "We are Danes. We don't do what they tell us. We do what we want." This was said literally, in so many words.

[Goose]

Now, the real question is whether the US would have been better off just following Sweden's approach, if there is an acknowledgment that probably couldn't have gotten the population to take a Germany/Denmark/Norway approach.

BC

I think the answer is probably we would not have been better off. As the article pointed out, Swedes follow the regulations precisely. If you have fewer regulations to reduce the spread of disease, in order to have any chance at all of keeping spread under control those few regulations must be followed. In  the USA, even if we had fewer, less invasive restrictions, IMHO the remaining regulations would not have been followed "religiously" and we wouldn't replicate even Sweden's death rate.
I think that the situation in New York got so bad so rapidly that a lockdown there was essential. Sweden never had to deal with that level of initial spread. It could be argued that the Bay Area would have been able to escape an initial lockdown and do OK. However, we are now de facto in a "Sweden Lite" model and aren't doing so well, so I wonder about even that. We are nowhere near opening the schools. It may be we could do that without a big increase in cases, but for some reason I doubt it. 

I have done business in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. It is true that while there are similarities, there are differences, as the article points out. There are also many others not highlighted in the article. I have never sold anything to the Finns. FWIW, Denmark is the only country where I have ever been berated for NOT walking against the pedestrian light. The explanation was "We are Danes. We don't do what they tell us. We do what we want." This was said literally, in so many words.