'Compare Sweden to Norway for a fair idea of how they handled covid'

What do you think? (Credits: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Did Sweden nail it or miss the mark with covid? Readers are breaking down the facts and sorting through some myths.

Meanwhile, is the average Joe skipping out VAT comparable to the fraud of the super-rich? Is the way to a successful marriage living next to – rather than with your partner? Are brussels sprouts a seasonal treat or to be enjoyed the other 364 days a year? Does the media love to hate Nigel Farage – his I’m A Celebrity fee might confirm it. Plus, a reader shares tips to cut your gas bill and tackle mould this winter.

What do you think about today’s reader’s letters.

Share your thoughts in the comments.

‘The myth of Sweden’s ‘successful’ Covid approach.’

Murat Yildirimoglu (MetroTalk, Fri) claims Sweden did not suffer as a result of eschewing lockdowns during the pandemic.

Yes, Sweden’s per capita Covid deaths are considerably lower than the UK’s. But they are also considerably higher than those of its neighbours Norway, Denmark and Finland, which all did lock down. Jim Roland, North London

Murat repeats the myth of Sweden’s ‘successful’ Covid approach.

You cannot compare Sweden with the UK: it’s nearly twice as large but has one sixth the population – its biggest city has fewer than one million people.

Compare, instead, its fellow Scandinavian countries Norway and Finland – combined they have a similar population to Sweden yet had only 60 per cent of the total deaths Sweden did and both had lockdowns.

Even Swedish politicians admit they regret their approach – such as discouraging masks and attempting to stifle academic criticism of their strategy – because they had by far the highest deaths in Scandinavia. Lewis Gibson, Birmingham

METRO TALK – HAVE YOUR SAY

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Bob (MetroTalk, Fri) is right to say there are a lot of people who avoid being taxed and not just the super-wealthy.

However, the VAT being avoided by contractors charging cash, those committing benefit fraud and the bar staff/waiters etc who don’t declare their tips amounts to a drop in the ocean compared to the multi-millions of pounds being avoided by corporate companies.

It is almost comical to put them in the same category. Frances, Glasgow

‘My wife and I live next door to each other and we are the envy of our friends’

Do you, or would you prefer living next door to your partner? (Credits: Getty Images)

My wife and I (still married) live next door to each other like the Canadian couple who bought adjoining flats (Metro, Fri).

We will stay like this – it gives us our independence that we both need (young 66 and 61-year-olds).

It’s the ideal marriage for us… no kids, just cats. A lot of friends are envious, they say. Mark (and Laura), via email

‘The government can sort immigration for students and professionals why not asylum seekers?’

What do you think? (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

Immigration to the UK means you must have a visa, be vetted, pay a significant NHS immigration surcharge and either be paying student fees or have a job that pays very well.

The government can process all this red tape for 745,000 people in a year. Yet for asylum seekers, the process is slow, complex and costly.

Why the difference? Neil Dance, Birmingham

‘How I reduced my gas bill and stopped black mould forming in my house’

The weather’s getting cold and even expensive (Credits: Getty Images)

To all those concerned about rising fuel costs over winter. My home suffers from heat loss from double-glazed aluminium windows.

I’ve reduced my gas bills by buying insulation sheets – cutting them to fit 
my window. I find the basic 25mm-thick 8m x 4m sheet good enough to improve insulation. They cost about £37 per sheet.

Another tip – drying wet cloths in unventilated warm rooms causes black mould to form on cold, wet surfaces. Dry wet cloths in bathrooms first, allowing cloths to drip in the bath. Only when they’re dry to the touch should they be moved to a warmer room.

If you see black mould forming around cold windows, sponge wash off with diluted bleach and dry off with towel roll. Xavier LeCornec, via email

‘Mind your own business and let people pee in peace’

Do you agree? (Credits: Getty Images)

Paul (MetroTalk, Fri) says disabled toilets are no proof against the claim non-gender toilets are an encroachment of women’s safe spaces because only one person can use them at any time.

Perhaps someone could tell him multiple people don’t occupy women’s toilets at the same time. In ladies’ loos, there are cubicles with doors and locks.

Once you’re inside and the door is closed you’ve no way of knowing what the undercarriage of the person in the next cubicle is like unless you’re very friendly with them or something has gone badly wrong – in which case odds are the problem is with you not the other person.

This is why those arguing against trans people using toilets appropriate to the gender they identify as are so absurd, because they consciously ignore the existence of such things as cubicles.

As a (cis) woman, my rights are not going to be sacrificed if trans and non-binary people are also able to access the same facilities I use.

However, if people are going to start policing other people’s toilet habits, my rights might well be infringed – because are those who are so keen to discriminate going to start demanding to see our nether regions, or produce identity papers before we can spend a penny?

Or are they just going to resort to harassing anyone who doesn’t fit in with some arbitrary notion of how us women are ‘supposed’ to look?

Just a suggestion, but how about people just start minding their own business rather than getting overly concerned about people peeing in private? Jo Selwood, Oxford

Does the media really hate Farage?

Is Nigel Farage as hated as they say? (Picture: Rex)

Natalie, Birmingham (MetroTalk, Mon) lauds Nigel Farage and thinks ‘the media hate him because he speaks the truth’.

The ‘truth’ of his I’m really interested in is the one where he said he would live abroad if Brexit failed – which he now admits has happened – but so far he has not managed to pack his bags.

The media hate him so much they are paying him £1.5million to appear on a rather silly TV programme, gave him a job on GB News and print his articles in the Daily Telegraph. Martin, London

If you can’t be civil stay out of the debate (Credits: Getty Images)

It is my humble opinion that most people who share their thoughts on this forum are proactive regarding the debates put forward on it.

However, what I cannot seem to understand is why they tend to result in arguments.

One’s sensitivity should be left at the door when entering into a debate, otherwise things digress into schoolyard mentality, which is quite frankly boring.

If people want things to improve, they need to listen, absorb and process each other’s opinions rather than revert to prejudice too quickly. This is why we have global conflict. Until this happens, the human race will never be civilised. Riche, Hackney

Sprouts aren’t just for Christmas, they’re for life

Love them or hate them, once a year, or all year round? (Credits: Getty Images)

The first mention of sprouts on Good Morning Britain didn’t get a thumb’s up from the presenters yesterday, but my family love them.

People say to me when they see my Gremlins Christmas jumper, ‘It’s too early’ but it’s never too early for sprouts – not unless you give them to the dog.

So get rid of the Grinch and get out the sprouts and shout ‘It’s Christmas’. Harry John, Linton

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