- Sweden this week announced a further tightening of measures as COVID-19 cases continue to climb.
- Prime Minister Stefan Lofven warned this week that the country may also face its first exclusion.
- New infections prompted Sweden to gradually abandon its unique approach, which it first adopted.
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Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven warned this week that the country would face the pandemic for the first time since the start of the pandemic, as it apparently could not control its rising number of coronavirus cases.
The country, which relied mostly on voluntary measures, especially during the pandemic, was forced to gradually sharpen its clear approach after an increase in cases over the past two weeks.
Sweden on Thursday reported more than 4,800 new cases of coronavirus and 40 deaths – the highest since the beginning of the month, according to a John Hopkins University tracker, Sweden has recorded more than 659,000 cases since the start of the pandemic.
“We are seeing an increase in business again, we need to take new measures,” Lofven told a news conference on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. “If the situation worsens, the government is prepared to enforce a possible closure in parts of Sweden. It is hopefully not necessary.”
Sweden has been scrambling for weeks now to get its rising business under control. In December, the government issued its first recommendation to wear face masks – a topic that is largely taboo in the country.
One month later, Sweden closed its borders with neighboring Norway and Denmark and also introduced a law allowing the government to close restaurants, shops and public transport to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The measures were further tightened this week when Lofven announced that from 1 March, restaurants and cafes that do not serve alcohol must close at 20:30 and that there will be a limit on the number of people allowed in shops and gyms.
Restaurants in shopping malls will only become takeaways, and amateur sports will also be discontinued, Lofven said.
The restrictions come not only as cases continue to increase, but also by public health experts who point out that the country’s health system is now facing the new variants of the virus.
Anders Tegnell, the architect of Sweden’s initial reaction to the gene exclusion, said on Tuesday that it now looked “almost inevitable” that the more contagious British variant would become in Sweden, reports The Telegraph. In Stockholm, it is already identified in 27 percent of the samples tested.
A day after Sweden adjusted the measures, the prime minister of neighboring Finland declared a three-week closure of the coronavirus ruling from March 8, meaning all restaurants would be closed and no more than six may meet.