Sweden's coronavirus rules are voluntary. One city hopes chicken manure will encourage compliance.


Scandinavia is celebrating Walpurgis Night on Thursday, and the annual festival of spring draws up to 30,000 people in Lund, home to one of Sweden's largest universities. Lund, like many cities and towns in Sweden, is urging people to skip the traditional crowded bonfires and parties this year because of the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
Unlike most other countries, however, Sweden's COVID-19 mitigation rules are mostly voluntary, and Lund can't ban people from amassing in its central park for "spontaneous" Walpurgis Night festivities, The Guardian reports. So they are dumping a metric ton of chicken manure in the park. It's a win-win, Guvtav Lundblad, a member of the local council, told Sweden's Sydsvenskan newspaper. "We get the opportunity to fertilize the lawns, and at the same time it will stink and so it may not be so nice to sit and drink beer in the park."
Sweden's experiment in voluntary social distancing gets mixed reviews. The country has banned planned gatherings of 50 or more and closed museums, but preschools and grade schools, bars, restaurants, hair salons, gyms, and even some movie theaters were kept open. Almost nobody wears masks, The New York Times reports, and "Sweden's death rate of 22 per 100,000 people is the same as that of Ireland, which has earned accolades for its handling of the pandemic, and far better than in Britain or France." Compared with its Nordic neighbors, however, Sweden is a disaster.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sweden has reported more than 20,300 COVID-19 cases and 2,462 deaths, in a country of 10.3 million. And while it has taken a lighter touch than its neighbors and peers, the decisions have been dictated by Sweden's top public health officials, not politicians. As Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lovin told BBC News, Sweden's strategy is deliberate, culturally appropriate, and set up for the long haul. Peter Weber
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
September 1 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday’s political cartoons include Labor Day picnic, branding strategy, and more
-
What is Tony Blair's plan for Gaza?
Today's Big Question Former PM has reportedly been putting together a post-war strategy 'for the past several months'
-
When does autumn begin?
The Explainer The UK is experiencing a 'false autumn', as climate change shifts seasonal weather patterns
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year