COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – Sweden tightens coronavirus restrictions nationwide by demanding that many people work from home and reduce the number of people who can gather in restaurants, shops and gyms from next week, but the government decided not to order the first complete closure of the country to control a recent increase in virus cases, the prime minister said on Friday.
Sweden has stood out among European nations for its comparative and practical response to the pandemic. The Scandinavian country has not participated in closures or closed companies, but trusts in the sense of the civic duty of citizens to control infections.
However, the country has experienced a rapid increase in confirmed cases affecting the health care system. Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said: “The situation remains very serious,” which is why the government is introducing new limits on public activities.
“We believe a blockade is a burden on the population,” Lofven said. “We follow our strategy.”
New restrictions that will take effect Dec. 24 include forcing face masks on public transportation and backing a national time limit for bars and restaurants to sell alcohol until 8 p.m. instead of 10 p.m.
Lofven said people with non-essential jobs will have to work from home and Education Minister Anna Ekstrom said schools should continue to plan distance education.
“It is not possible to return to normal daily life. The pandemic is about life and death, “Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lovin said at a news conference with Lofven.
Sweden, with a population of 10 million, has reported 367,120 confirmed cases of viruses and 7,993 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest figures.
Since the country’s first COVID-19 cases were registered, Swedish authorities have advised people to practice social distancing, but schools, bars and restaurants remain open.
The government and Sweden’s leading epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, have repeatedly defended the country’s coronavirus strategy while reporting one of the highest COVID-19 per capita mortality rates in the world. Tegnell said earlier this week that the death toll “is likely to continue to rise in the coming weeks.”
Discussing the new requirement for facial masks, the head of the Swedish Public Health Agency, Johan Carlson, said on Friday that authorities “have never opposed” making masks mandatory.
“We don’t think it has a very decisive effect, but it can have a positive effect on public transportation at certain times,” Carlson said.
He added that “they can be useful in certain environments where distance cannot be maintained.”