OPINION: You may have heard people talking about Sweden.
People are saying we should be more like them - stop trying to keep COVID-19 out, save the economy, and live with the comparatively small number of deaths among people who are mostly elderly.
But this is bollocks.
People are telling you this because we've had a bumpy week in New Zealand and that's the best time to play on people's insecurities.
To be clear, this is not about Labour v National. Both parties have said they're committed to keeping COVID-19 out.
This is about facts v "reckons". So here are some facts about Sweden.
First, Sweden's number of COVID-19 cases is going up. The coronavirus is not under control.
Though deaths are down, Sweden is seeing more infections every day and the graph is going in the wrong direction.
Their economy is screwed, actually
People like to tell you if we were prepared to lose a few old people that were going to die anyway, we could save the economy.
But Sweden is showing the opposite. Its economy has tanked more than their neighbours who moved to lockdown, and Sweden's actually more locked down than we are at alert level 1 or 2.
But isn't Sweden heading for herd immunity?
Nah, it's not even close.
Experts predicted Sweden would have 40 percent immunity by May, but it's mid-August and it's still about 6 percent - they need to get to 60 or 70 percent.
And that's if immunity even exists. At the moment, scientists aren't even sure you catching COVID-19 can make you immune to it.
Those are the facts but here's a useful fact too. Look at the people calling for us to be more like Sweden - it's not the experts; it's talkback radio hosts and newspaper columnists.
They're no smarter than you, they're just louder. So, don't listen to them.
In fact, don't listen to me either - listen to the experts.
We're better than Sweden
It's true, we can do better in New Zealand. We can tighten up the border, demand more of the Government, wear masks, test more people, and use the COVID Tracer app.
But let's focus on that stuff and not worry that we've got the plan wrong. We're better than Sweden and we're officially better than every country on Earth.
If you see someone sharing this crap on Facebook, just mute them.
This pandemic has proven you're living in the greatest country in the world - let's share that message like it's a conspiracy theory.
Jesse Mulligan co-hosts Three's The Project
