The World Health Organization (WHO) classified COVID-19 as a threat to human health on January 30, 2020, and upgraded it to a pandemic on March 11. Since then, many countries have taken extensive steps to restrict transmission, but Sweden adopted a more measured approach, without the national lockdowns instigated by many of its European neighbours. The actions taken in Sweden in the eight months up to September 1, and the key actors who were involved, can be seen in the detailed timeline that accompanies this paper (Figure 1). Earlier reviews on Sweden's pandemic response have been published, 1 but there have been little data on what has set Sweden apart from other countries. These differences include the timing of pandemic-related actions, the way that COVID-19 has been coded