With science and shared values, Sweden charts own pandemic course

Sylvia Milchert spends most of her time tending to her blooming garden in a sleepy suburb of Stockholm since the coronavirus hit Sweden. The semi-retired psychologist takes precautions such as having food delivered to her home, but continues to see her grandchildren, albeit only outside, keeping a distance and skipping hugs.

It’s not quite business as usual in the suburb of Vallingby. But people still frequent cafes and the odd person can be seen at the gym. Like most Swedes, Ms. Milchert believes health authorities here have taken the right approach by not responding to the crisis with the strict lockdowns favored in the rest of Europe and trusting the population to do the right thing.

“It’s good to trust people to think for themselves,” she says, although her trust wavers when examining the toll