Turns out Sweden's voluntary mask-wearing is a better system for avoiding deaths than actively undermining mask-wearing. The two "strong men" are working their magic not just on an absolute basis, but also relatively.
USA now has 567/million deaths.
Brazil 571/m.
Sweden 574/m.
Overtaking Sweden will put the US back in the top 10 in terms of deaths per million. Deaths per million is the list you really don't want to top, or even get near topping.
Next after Sweden among the fairly immobile targets comes Italy on 587/m. Biden's Italy. The place whose response he compared unfavourably to the US. Doubtless the Italians remember.
Then the UK (Chile still being in motion) on 611. So the US will probably reach 8th within the next two or three weeks and Brazil 7th. Whereas the UK, Italy and Sweden will occupy 9th, 10th and 11th.
In absolute terms, the US still tops the list of deaths, of course. 187,736.
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