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Interior Minister Mikael Damberg (S) announced the flight stop on Monday and two days earlier. It is now clear that flights from the UK will remain stopped until the turn of the year.
– We do this to protect staff who will be forced to spend Christmas and New Years in hospitals and emergency rooms in Sweden, he said at a press conference.
Exceptions to the prohibition
At the same time, the government decided on a waiver of the entry ban. This after talks with Denmark and the EU, according to a press release.
People traveling from the UK or Denmark who are deemed to have “urgent family reasons” will now be exempted from the entry ban. The change takes effect at midnight and is valid until January 21.
– This also applies to some people living on Bornholm who have gotten into trouble, says Sofie Rudh, press secretary for government offices.
Looking for the shape of the mutated virus
At the same time, Sweden has started a clearer search for the new mutated form of the UK virus. According to the Minister of the Interior, Mikael Damberg, it is a question of “putting ourselves to the test in time.” The public health authority calls it an “escalation.”
Managing Director Johan Carlson has previously said that the Swedish Public Health Agency has decided that everyone who has traveled to or from the UK since 12 December should take the crown test. Those who have already traveled to Sweden must also be quarantined for seven days after returning home.
The advice is for people to go to their hometown and test themselves there.
No cases were found in Sweden
So far, there have been no confirmed cases of the mutation in Sweden, but both the government and the Public Health Agency believe it is possible that the form of the virus already exists in Sweden.
Last week the UK announced that it had discovered a more contagious variant of the coronavirus in the country. According to the country’s Health Minister, the virus infects up to 70 percent more than the previous version.
