COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – Sweden tightens national restrictions on coronavirus, requiring many people to work from home and reducing the number of people who can gather in restaurants, shops and gyms from next week, but the government has decided not to orders the country’s first complete blockade in controlled a recent rise in virus cases, the prime minister said on Friday.
Sweden has stood out among European nations for its relatively practical response to the pandemic. The Scandinavian country did not enter into blockades or closed business, relying instead on the citizen’s sense of civic duty to control infections.
However, the country has seen a rapid increase in confirmed cases affecting the health system. Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said: “The situation continues to be very serious”, which is why the government is introducing new limits on public activities.
“We believe the blockade is a burden on the population,” Lofven said. “We follow our strategy.”
The new restrictions, which come into force on December 24, include making public masks mandatory and pushing back a national deadline for bars and restaurants to sell alcohol until 8pm instead of 10pm.
Lofven said people with non-essential jobs would 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 a normal daily life. The pandemic is about life and death, “said Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lovin at a news conference with Lofven.
Sweden, with a population of 10 million, has reported 367,120 confirmed cases of the virus and 7,993 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the latest figures.
Since the first COVID-19 cases were registered in the country, the Swedish authorities have advised people to practice social distance, but schools, bars and restaurants have remained 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. Tegnell said earlier this week that the death toll “will continue to rise in the coming weeks.”
Speaking about the new face mask requirement, the head of the Swedish Public Health Agency, Johan Carlson, said on Friday that authorities “have never been against” making the mask mandatory.
“We don’t think it will have a 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 you can’t keep your distance”.