�������ýҕ�l

Conservatives have developed a fascination with Sweden’s hands-off approach to the coronavirus — an unexpected twist for a country that once served as a Republican punchline for Bernie Sanders jokes. On the surface, Sweden’s approach to containing the coronavirus pandemic is a libertarian dream: Restaurants remain open, as long as they adhere to social-distancing rules. Schools are in session. Salons are in business. And by some metrics, Sweden has fared roughly as well as many of its European neighbors, all of which have instituted much stricter lockdown measures. (Nguyen, 4/30)

Sweden’s foreign minister says there’s been a “misunderstanding” in the United States about her country’s Covid-19 policies — which have been distinctly more liberal than the strict lockdowns instituted across much of the rest of Europe and North America. Ann Linde told POLITICO that Sweden is not a libertarian nirvana: the government has moved to limit online gambling in recent days, is closing restaurants that break social distancing rules, and has forbidden family visits to nursing homes. (Heath, 4/29)

The Trump administration has no immediate plans to reopen the country’s borders after imposing a ban on foreign travelers from the European Union and the U.K. last month to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Mr. Pompeo told reporters Wednesday that the State Department was working with countries on plans to resume international travel, but declined to say whether borders would reopen before the summer. (Donati, 4/29)