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Sweden’s government has introduced the toughest measures yet to help prevent a second wave of the pandemic, including recommending masks on public transport and closing non-essential public workplaces.
Sweden has stubbornly resisted the lockdowns and left most schools, businesses and restaurants open during the pandemic.
However, a severe second wave of the pandemic, with a record number of new cases almost every week for the past two months, has prompted the government to do more.
Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said non-essential public workplaces such as gyms, swimming pools and libraries would close until January 24.
He also said that the government now recommended the use of masks in public transport during busy hours.
“We are doing what we have done during this pandemic, the right measures at the right time. And this is what it is,” Lofven said.
When asked if stricter measures were necessary, Lofven said the strategy was calibrated for the long term.
“A serious shutdown would have no long-term effect because people would not tolerate it,” Lofven told reporters.
But as cases have increased, authorities have urged people to limit social interactions to those in their home or a very small circle of friends.
However, some measures are binding, and a ban on public gatherings of more than eight people went into effect on November 24, reducing the number from 50.
With a death toll of close to 8,000, Sweden’s per capita death rate is several times higher than that of its Nordic neighbors, but lower than that of several European countries that have opted for lockdowns.
Johan Carlson, director of the Public Health Agency, has stressed that masks should not be considered a substitute for maintaining physical distance, and the recommendation was limited to situations where it was impossible.
“We don’t think it has a decisive effect, but in this specific situation it can have a positive effect,” Carlson said, adding that wearing them on the street does not appear to be significant.
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Sydney residents urged to stay home as cluster grows
Australian officials have declared Sydney’s north beaches a coronavirus hotspot as a cluster of cases rose to 28 and prompted the return of national travel restrictions.
The outbreak follows a period of relative normalcy in the city after it proved successful in keeping the virus at bay in recent months.
But today hundreds of thousands of residents were urged to stay home as long as possible for three days and long lines formed outside Covid-19 clinics as health officials ran to contain the infection.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian, head of the state of New South Wales in Sydney, said: “If we get through this in the next two or three days, we can all have a much better Christmas.”
“But if we don’t control it in the next few days, it could mean more restrictions in the future.”
Even though most of the cases are linked to a location in the suburb of Avalon on the city’s northeast peninsula, Berejiklian said all of Sydney’s more than five million residents should be on “high alert.”
Wearing masks, while recommended, is still optional in Sydney as daily community cases in Australia have remained low or zero for months.
Success in containing the virus has allowed for a continued rollback of restrictions before Christmas, and domestic travel has largely returned to normal before the latest outbreak.
The loosening of sidewalks has sparked fears that the new outbreak has already spread across the country.
A case related to the group was detected in neighboring Queensland, prompting state and territory officials to announce restrictions on Sydney travelers, forcing many to isolate themselves.
Some of the toughest restrictions come from Western Australia, and state leader Mark McGowan announced a 14-day self-quarantine for all arrivals from New South Wales.
McGowan said: “There is no question that New South Wales is on the brink of a serious outbreak, and we must do whatever it takes to stay safe.”
Health officials said genomic tests had found that the virus strain likely came from the United States, but it was unclear how it spread to Sydney.
Arrivals from abroad to Australia are strictly controlled and must be quarantined.
A bus driver transporting the aircrew from the city’s airport also tested positive for a strain of the virus abroad earlier this week, but is not linked to the northern beach group, authorities said.
Australia has recorded more than 28,000 coronavirus cases and 908 deaths in a population of 25 million.
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