Corona pandemic
Sweden is also tightening the corona screws again
Barricaded seating in a shopping center in Uppsala, Sweden. Photo: Henrik Montgomery / TT News Agency / AP / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
For a long time, Sweden has relied on relatively slight restrictions in the fight against Corona. The high infection rate of the new Omikron variant is now forcing Stockhom to change course.
The worrying Omikron situation ensures that the corona measures will be tightened in Sweden just before Christmas. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson presented a number of restrictions on Thursday.
These include the requirement that only seated guests are served in restaurants and pubs and that there is a one-meter distance between the individual companies. In practice, this means that there will be no nightclub celebrations on New Year’s Eve, said Andersson at a press conference in Stockholm.
Anyone who could should also work from home. At indoor gatherings and public events, more than 20 people can only be present if the visitors are seated. If there are more than 500 participants, proof of vaccination is required. Limitations are intended to prevent crowds, for example in shops and shopping centers.
“We now have to take on a shared responsibility,” said Andersson of her compatriots. I understand that many are corona tired. However, Omikron ensures increasing numbers, which is why one has to act. The virus variant is spreading faster than expected and the spread must now be reduced immediately.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Sweden has taken a special route with relatively loose restrictions. In the course of this, the country had to struggle with very high corona numbers for a long time compared to the rest of Scandinavia and Germany. The number of new infections, on the other hand, is currently one of the lowest in the entire EU, but it is also increasing in the Scandinavian country.