Sweden released its coronavirus statistics, showing that the nation’s death toll surpassed 4,000 over the weekend.
The total number of recorded COVID-19 deaths, as shown by Sweden’s Public Health Agency, grew by 31 from Sunday to Monday, leaving the Scandinavian nation with 4,029 total deaths. The nation has had 33,843 confirmed cases of the coronavirus since the pandemic began.
Unlike much of Europe, Sweden opted against complete shutdowns because of the virus. Schools and restaurants remained open, and individuals were allowed to practice social distancing and good hygiene on their own accord.
The lax policies have yielded a much higher per capita death toll than neighboring countries. Data showed Sweden had the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in Europe per capita at 6.25 deaths per million inhabitants per day between May 12 and May 19.
Overall, the country has a much lower per capita death toll than larger European nations, such as Italy or Spain.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University that was last updated on Sunday, Sweden had 39.26 deaths per 100,000 people. That total falls below the deaths per capita in France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Belgium.
The United States had 29.87 deaths per 100,000 people.
