RESULTS

Most of the surveyed countries introduced some kind of epidemiological measures immediately after the sudden increase in the number of patients. We have tried to present a clear trend in the increase in the number of patients and deaths in the light of the measures taken, which differed between countries, ranging from strict restrictions on movement and quarantine within the state of emergency, such as the drastic example of China, to somewhat ”softer” measures introduced in most European countries to measures taken by Sweden government, which included recommendations on the behavior of the population and the closure of less important economic activities, secondary schools and colleges, but even not the suspension of work in primary schools and kindergartens. There are countries that have locked entire cities and areas, but the question is whether such measures were adopted in a timely manner and properly implemented. All studied countries have been compared with Sweden, as an example of liberal approach to COVID-19 prevention.
Graph 1. COVID-19 deaths per one million of population for 11 studied states during the period 2020-03-11 to 2020-05-31.
The data were taken from the address: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/download-todays-data-geographic-distribution-covid-19-cases-worldwide) [11].
Graph 1 shows mortality from SARS-CoV-2 infection. We monitored mortality in the period from the introduction of the pandemic on March 11, 2020 by the WHO to May 31, 2020. The leading countries in terms of the number of deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 infection are clearly observed.
Graph 2. Total cases per one million of population during the period 2020-03-11 to 2020-05-31.
The results are presented as mean ± standard error of the mean. A p value <0.01 was considered as significant.
A one-way ANOVA followed by a post-hoc Tukey’s significant difference (HSD) test was performed to determine the statistical significance in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases between the examined countries in relation to Sweden. A statistically significant difference was observed (Graph 2) in the period since the introduction of the pandemic on March 11, 2020 by the WHO until May 31, 2020. A statistically significantly lower number of newly diagnosed cases is present in countries that have introduced strict quarantine compared to Sweden with somewhat more flexible protection measures against SARS-CoV-2 infection. On the other hand, the data also show a statistically significant increase in new infections in Italy, USA and Spain compared to Sweden.
Graph 3. Total deaths per one million of population during the period 2020-03-11 to 2020-05-31.
The results are presented as mean ± standard error of the mean. A p value <0.01 was considered as significant.
Graph 3 shows the total death rate from Covid-19 per million population in the period 2020-03-11 to 2020-05-3. The results showed a statistically significantly lower mortality in countries with a strict epidemiological regime (Serbia, China, Norway, Germany and Croatia) compared to Sweden. The results also show a significantly high mortality rate from this disease in Italy, Spain and the UK compared to Sweden.
Graph 4. Comparison of new cases per one million of population between studied countries and Sweden.
A comparison of new cases per million COVID 19 between the surveyed countries with Sweden is shown in Graph 4. The largest differences in the number of new cases are observed in the comparison of Sweden and Croatia, Serbia, China, Germany and Norway, respectively.