The COVID-19 pandemic and the timing of government response: A comparison of four Nordic countries March–June 2020

OBJECTIVES: The aim is to compare Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway regarding government response to the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March–June 2020 using the Oxford Government Response Tracker. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive longitudinal ecological study. METHODS: Descriptive analysis of time series data. RESULTS: Sweden displayed a far lower response index in March. By late April indexes were similar. In May–June, response indexes were lower in Finland and Norway than in Sweden. The average response index in mid-March–June was similar in Sweden, Finland and Norway. CONCLUSIONS: The government response in the four countries indicates that timing of response was essential. Sweden’s slow and weak initial government response in March–April was followed by less loosening of government response in May–June compared with, especially, Finland and Norway, which resulted in similar average government response in mid-March–June for the three countries. As a comparison, COVID-19 mortality per capita was 10 times higher in Sweden than in Finland and Norway, and five times higher than in Denmark during the same period.