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Such restrictions imply a departure from the country’s previous instructions, which were largely based on voluntary measures to stop the spread of the virus. The new restrictions will go into effect nationwide on November 20 and mean that all businesses licensed to do business in alcohol must close by 10:30 p.m.
“There are circumstances in which the situation could turn desperate,” said the country’s prime minister, Stefan Lovfen, at a news conference in Stockholm. “There is a risk that the situation we had in the spring will repeat itself.”
With new restrictions on movement, authorities in thirteen of Sweden’s 21 regions have issued recommendations urging citizens, among other things, to avoid physical contact with people other than those with whom they live under the same roof.
However, these recommendations appear to have limited impact. Last week, the number of COVID-19 cases detected per day reached a record high and patient flows in hospitals are increasing.
Lofven said he was willing to consider stricter measures restricting public gatherings if recent restrictions failed to curb the spread of infections.
On Wednesday, 129 COVID-19 patients were treated in intensive care units (ICU). Although that number is only a quarter of the peak reached in April, ICU patient flows have doubled in the past ten days.
It will depend on how Sweden behaves now, “if we can celebrate Christmas as usual”, warned the country’s prime minister.
“All the signs are going in the wrong direction,” Lofven told a joint press conference with Social Affairs Minister Lena Hallengren.
The minister said that all places with permits to sell alcohol must finish working 30 minutes after 10 p.m. She called these places, especially bars and nightclubs, “risky environments.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the ban on visiting nursing homes in the Swedish capital was lifted due to a spike in coronavirus infections.
Sweden, which decided not to restrict a large part of the public, lifted the national ban on visiting grandparents’ homes in September.
10 million 166,707 infections and 6,082 deaths have been reported in a country with a population since the start of the pandemic.
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