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Sweden “is currently in danger of finding itself in the same situation it was in the spring,” Stefan Lofven told a news conference on Wednesday.
In recent weeks, the number of new infections in the country has reached record levels.
“All the indicators show that we are going in the wrong direction,” the prime minister said during a joint press conference with Social Affairs Minister Lena Hallengren.
Challengren said that all places authorized to trade alcohol must be closed 30 minutes after 10 pm, adding that bars and discos are a “dangerous environment.”
Sweden has been heavily criticized for “a rather relaxed approach to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring” after the first wave of coronaviruses in Europe.
Unlike the country’s neighbors, Sweden introduced no national quarantine or severe restrictions, and bars and restaurants functioned even during the heat of the first wave.
Sweden, with a population of just over 10 million, has reported 166,707 cases and 6,082 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Earlier on Wednesday, Stockholm reintroduced a ban on visiting nursing homes when coronavirus outbreaks were reported at retirement facilities in the capital.
Last week, Prime Minister Lofven was isolated because he had contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19.
At the time, the prime minister said the epidemic “is moving rapidly in the wrong direction. More are infected. More are dying. This is a serious situation. “
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