Question : Comprehension:
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
Unlike its Nordic neighbours, Sweden decided early on in the pandemic to forgo lockdown in the hope of achieving broad immunity to the coronavirus. While social distancing was promoted, the government allowed bars, restaurants, salons, gyms, and schools to stay open. Initially, Sweden saw death rates from COVID-19 that were similar to those of other European nations that had closed down their economies. But now, the Scandinavian nation's daily death toll per 1 million people is 8.71 compared to the United States 4.59, according to the online publication 'Our World in Data'. Sweden's mortality rate is the highest in Europe. "I'd say it hasn't worked out so well," said Dr. George Rutherford, professor of epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco. "I think the mortality in Norway is something like ten-fold lower. That's the real comparator." (Norway's daily death rate is less than 0.01 per 1 million people.)
"If you let this go, don't try very hard, or go about it in somewhat of a more restrained way than we have here, this is the price you pay," Rutherford said. "Maybe it didn't hurt businesses, but you have twice the mortality rate of the United States. All those people who died were part of families, and they were citizens and part of the fabric of Swedish society. And now they're gone because of a policy that hasn't worked out quite the way they thought it would."
Scientists estimate herd immunity for the coronavirus is reached when 70–90% of the population becomes immune to a virus, either by becoming infected or getting a protective vaccine.
Despite its relaxed response, Sweden is nowhere near hitting that goal. Tests on 1,118 Stockholm residents carried out by Sweden's Public Health Agency over one week in late April showed that only 7.3% had developed the antibodies needed to stave off the disease. "I think herd immunity is a long way off if we ever reach it," Björn Olsen, a professor of infectious medicine at Uppsala University, told Reuters after the release of the antibody findings.
Rutherford said we can keep doing non-pharmaceutical interventions like contact tracing, mask-wearing, and isolation quarantines, but also develop drugs that work better treating people who already have the infection so they don't require critical care in a hospital.
Question:
What was the result of having no lockdown in Sweden?
Option 1: Sweden's mortality rate became the highest in Europe.
Option 2: The economy in Sweden flourished more than before.
Option 3: Sweden has achieved herd immunity against the Corona virus.
Option 4: Sweden's public health care system became more robust.
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Correct Answer: Sweden's mortality rate became the highest in Europe.
Solution : The correct choice is the first option
Explanation: The passage illustrates that despite forgoing a lockdown and pursuing a strategy aiming at achieving broad immunity to the coronavirus, Sweden's mortality rate due to COVID-19 was now the highest in Europe. The strategy didn't lead to achieving herd immunity as anticipated and resulted in a higher mortality rate compared to other European nations that implemented stricter measures. There's no indication in the passage suggesting that the economy flourished or that the public health care system became more robust due to the absence of a lockdown.
Therefore, the correct answer is: that Sweden's mortality rate became the highest in Europe.
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