Sweden Sticks With Controversial COVID-19 Approach By Karen Weintraub May 1, 2020 -- Sweden has taken a different approach to fighting COVID-19 than most other countries -- and it’s causing a global stir. Instead of tight lockdowns, Swedish officials have encouraged citizens to use common sense, work from home if possible, and not gather in crowds over 50. Primary schools are open, as are bars and restaurants, with images showing people enjoying drinks and crowding streets. Their aim, officials have said, is to slow the pace of the virus, so as not to overwhelm the health care system. But they also want healthy people to keep getting infected, to eventually build “herd immunity,” where so many people have survived an infection that they won’t be vulnerable to it again.