The coronavirus pandemic has been more widespread than government officials anticipated. As a result, many states relaxed restrictions sooner than would have been allowed had they adhered to guidelines that included population density, daily new cases and testing capability. Many people took the experience of Sweden as a positive sign for reopening, without realizing that Sweden had many more cases and deaths per million population than did its Nordic neighbors. Others cited Denmark, which relaxed restrictions without a dramatic increase in new cases. However, they failed to appreciate the fact that Denmark did not significantly