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In the spring, as the virus ravaged western Europe, countries in the former eastern bloc quickly introduced border controls and lockdowns, and were largely spared. Belgium, Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden accounted for almost all of the continent’s deaths. Each suffered a monthly excess-mortality rate of at least 12 people per 100,000 (averaged from March to May). The country in eastern Europe that got closest was Belarus, which recorded a monthly rate of 8 per 100,000, after imposing almost no restrictions on daily life. Others were markedly lower.
Publication Date: 15 February 2021
Publication Site: The Economist