On 2 April 2020, while the coronavirus pandemic was widespread in most Western countries, of which many had by then imposed quarantine measures, Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported that there were "no lockdowns, no school closures and no ban on going to the pub" in Sweden; This was inaccurate, however, as secondary schools and universities were recommended to physically close and transfer to distance education on 17 March, and on 24 March cafés, restaurants and bars were ordered to allow table service only.
Moreover, gatherings of more than 50 people had been banned in Sweden as of 27 March.

Sweden's pandemic strategy has been described as trusting the public to act responsibly: instead of wide-ranging bans and restrictions, authorities have advised people to maintain good hand hygiene, work from home if possible and practice social distancing, while those over 70 have been urged to self-isolate as a precaution.

Despite scepticism and criticism from a number of doctors and medical experts, as well as international news media, Sweden has defended its strategy, with Prime Minister Stefan Löfven referring to "common sense" and Tegnell saying that the strategy is rooted in a "long tradition" of respecting "free will", as well as the high level of trust and respect Swedes have for public authorities.
According to a survey conducted by Sifo, the population's confidence in the Public Health Agency increased from 65 percent to 74 percent between 9–12 March and 21–25 March.
A March 2020 survey, carried out by the same company for TV4, showed more than half (53%) of the Swedish population had trust in Tegnell, a higher number than for any of the current leaders of the Swedish political parties, while 18% said they didn't trust the state epidemiologist.
In an April survey, the share who said they trusted Tegnell had increased to 69%, while the number who said they didn't trust their state epidemiologist had fallen to 11%.

The strategy was commonly attributed to Tegnell, who was quoted as saying:
We have so far not had very much of a spread [of the virus] into elderly homes and almost no spread into the hospitals, which is very important... We know that [with] these kinds of voluntary measures that we put in place in Sweden, we can basically go on with them for months and years if necessary. [
The economy] has the potential to start moving as usual very, very quickly once these things are over.

and:
In Sweden we are following the tradition that we have in Sweden and working very much with voluntary measures, very much with informing the public about the right things to do.
That has worked reasonably well so far.

On 2 April 2020, Dagens Eko reported that significant spread of the coronavirus had occurred in retirement homes in at least 90 municipalities.
Previously, the government and the public health authorities had strongly advised against external visits to retirement homes, with several municipalities outright banning them.
A nationwide ban on external visits to retirement homes came into force on 1 April.

On 21 April 2020, Tegnell was interviewed by Marta Paterlini of Nature.
During the interview he said that:
Closing borders, in my opinion, is ridiculous, because COVID-19 is in every European country now.

and that:
closing schools is meaningless at this stage.
Moreover, it is instrumental for psychiatric and physical health that the younger generation stays active.

On 28 April 2020, Tegnell was interviewed by Kim Hjelmgaard of USA Today.
During the interview he "denied that herd immunity formed the central thrust of Sweden's containment plan".
Tegnell says rather that:
We are trying to keep transmission rates at a level that the Stockholm health system can sustain... We are not calculating herd immunity in this.
With various measures, we are just trying to keep the transmission rate as low as possible... Any country that believes it can keep it out (Ed.
note: by closing borders, shuttering businesses, etc.)
will most likely be proven wrong at some stage.
We need to learn to live with this disease... At a glance it lo
On 2 April 2020, while the coronavirus pandemic was widespread in most Western countries, of which many had by then imposed quarantine measures, Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported that there were "no lockdowns, no school closures and no ban on going to the pub" in Sweden; This was inaccurate, however, as secondary schools and universities were recommended to physically close and transfer to distance education on 17 March, and on 24 March cafés, restaurants and bars were ordered to allow table service only. Moreover, gatherings of more than 50 people had been banned in Sweden as of 27 March.
Sweden's pandemic strategy has been described as trusting the public to act responsibly: instead of wide-ranging bans and restrictions, authorities have advised people to maintain good hand hygiene, work from home if possible and practice social distancing, while those over 70 have been urged to self-isolate as a precaution.
Despite scepticism and criticism from a number of doctors and medical experts, as well as international news media, Sweden has defended its strategy, with Prime Minister Stefan Löfven referring to "common sense" and Tegnell saying that the strategy is rooted in a "long tradition" of respecting "free will", as well as the high level of trust and respect Swedes have for public authorities. According to a survey conducted by Sifo, the population's confidence in the Public Health Agency increased from 65 percent to 74 percent between 9–12 March and 21–25 March. A March 2020 survey, carried out by the same company for TV4, showed more than half (53%) of the Swedish population had trust in Tegnell, a higher number than for any of the current leaders of the Swedish political parties, while 18% said they didn't trust the state epidemiologist. In an April survey, the share who said they trusted Tegnell had increased to 69%, while the number who said they didn't trust their state epidemiologist had fallen to 11%.
The strategy was commonly attributed to Tegnell, who was quoted as saying:
We have so far not had very much of a spread [of the virus] into elderly homes and almost no spread into the hospitals, which is very important... We know that [with] these kinds of voluntary measures that we put in place in Sweden, we can basically go on with them for months and years if necessary. [The economy] has the potential to start moving as usual very, very quickly once these things are over.
and:
In Sweden we are following the tradition that we have in Sweden and working very much with voluntary measures, very much with informing the public about the right things to do. That has worked reasonably well so far.
On 2 April 2020, Dagens Eko reported that significant spread of the coronavirus had occurred in retirement homes in at least 90 municipalities. Previously, the government and the public health authorities had strongly advised against external visits to retirement homes, with several municipalities outright banning them. A nationwide ban on external visits to retirement homes came into force on 1 April.
On 21 April 2020, Tegnell was interviewed by Marta Paterlini of Nature. During the interview he said that:
Closing borders, in my opinion, is ridiculous, because COVID-19 is in every European country now.
and that:
closing schools is meaningless at this stage. Moreover, it is instrumental for psychiatric and physical health that the younger generation stays active.
On 28 April 2020, Tegnell was interviewed by Kim Hjelmgaard of USA Today. During the interview he "denied that herd immunity formed the central thrust of Sweden's containment plan". Tegnell says rather that:
We are trying to keep transmission rates at a level that the Stockholm health system can sustain... We are not calculating herd immunity in this. With various measures, we are just trying to keep the transmission rate as low as possible... Any country that believes it can keep it out (Ed. note: by closing borders, shuttering businesses, etc.) will most likely be proven wrong at some stage. We need to learn to live with this disease... At a glance it lo
Anders Tegnell