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The Swedish Public Health Agency has issued stricter general guidelines for eight counties.
These tips apply to the Stockholm County public:
Refrain from staying in indoor environments such as stores, shopping centers, museums, libraries, bathrooms, and gyms. Visits to, for example, supermarkets and pharmacies can be made.
Refrain from participating, for example, in meetings, concerts, performances, sports training, matches and competitions. However, this does not apply to sports training for children and youth born in 2005 or later.
If possible, avoid having physical contact with people other than those you live. This means, among other things, a deterrence from organizing or participating in a party or similar social gathering.
But how should the advice be interpreted in practice? Expressen asked Maria Rotzén Östlund, an infection control physician in the Stockholm region, about what applies to Stockholmers.
Should you try to buy food less often (and more at a time)?
– Yeah, it’s probably a good rule of thumb. The fewer times you meet other people, the lower the risk of spreading the infection.
Is it necessary to go buy a new dishwasher if the old one has broken?
– It may be possible to buy online and as long as the installer maintains physical distance and good hand hygiene, it should be possible to do so for those who really cannot do without a dishwasher.
Can you go to Systembolaget?
– We have said that you should avoid visits to stores other than supermarkets and pharmacies. If for some reason it is absolutely necessary to visit Systembolaget, you should try to do it in an infection-proof way, at times when others are not walking, and keep a distance of two meters from other customers and staff. Spray or wash your hands immediately after the visit, many stores offer hand rubbing alcohol. Take advantage of that.
When is it necessary to visit a gym or a bathhouse, in addition to accompanying children?
– There are people who need the baths for medical reasons. For them, the bathhouses must be open. Otherwise, the advice is to train outdoors.
Is it okay to go to an outdoor gym even if there are many others working out there at the same time?
– The important thing is to keep your distance and perhaps think about cleaning the tools carefully. You should also try to go at times when fewer people train.
When is it necessary to visit a library?
– I understand that it can be good to borrow books or movies from libraries right now, when there is less to do. But it is a great responsibility for both libraries and visitors to ensure that visits can be made contagious. This means that it is possible to maintain a physical distance from others and that hands can be washed or sprayed. Additionally, students may need to visit libraries to obtain literature.
Can you attend performances that stay below the 50-person audience limit?
– Theoretically yes, if it really is not possible to postpone it for later. If the person organizing the event does so in such a way that it is possible to carry out the visit in an infection-proof manner, that is, that it is possible to maintain a physical distance and not meet other people and that it is possible to maintain good hand hygiene . Also keep in mind that it is also important to be able to get to the event contagiously.
Can people born before 2005 play sports together outdoors? If so, is there a difference between the different sports?
– If it can be done in an infection-proof way, some training can be done. I know that many gyms have moved classes and other workouts to the outdoors, it is good but it is still important to think about maintaining physical distance. In general, we advise against changing in the public changing rooms where many people stay.
Can associations have open-air meetings if participants keep their distance?
– Yes, again if it is really not possible to postpone it for later and only if it is possible to carry it out infectiously. But good opportunities for physical distancing.
Can you hang out with friends indoors if you don’t have physical contact?
– If there are new contacts, the answer is no, you should not do that. Whether it’s people in your own family or people in your social bubble, it can work, but again, it’s important to ensure physical distance even then,
Can you go to a restaurant?
– Yes, if the restaurant is arranged so that it is possible to visit it in a contagious way. According to the new rules, you can have a maximum of eight people at a table.
Can you go to the hairdresser?
– If absolutely necessary, it is up to both the hairdresser and the visitor to ensure that the visit can be carried out in a contagious way.
Can you go to the dentist?
– Yes, if it is really necessary and the dentist can arrange the visit in a contagious way.
Can you take the elevator with others?
– In general, it can be good for many reasons, not just infection control reasons, to use the stairs if possible. However, there are no recommendations that advise against taking the elevator if necessary. However, it may be a good idea not to get into an elevator, but to go up one by one.
This applies to your county
The same advice as in Stockholm County also applies in Västra Götaland, Skåne, Östergötland, Örebro, Jönköping and Halland counties. In Skåne, people are also urged not to travel by public transport.
In Uppsala County, which was the first to issue stricter advice, the following applies:
• Avoid riding public transportation or other public transportation and
• Avoid, if possible, having physical contact with people other than those you live.
Here is information from the Swedish Public Health Agency on exactly how advice is formulated in the counties in question.
In all of these counties, county administrative boards have decided that a maximum limit of 50 people will continue to apply to public meetings.
At the national level, the Swedish Public Health Agency has issued a regulation for restaurants that states that a maximum of eight people can sit around a table.
Explanation of the Public Health Agency about the municipalities
Refrain from staying indoors where people gather.
Stay longer than necessary indoors with people you don’t normally know. Outdoor environments are not covered by this tip. Necessary visits to, for example, buy food or medicine, or training for medical reasons in a bathhouse or gym are not covered. However, it is important to make these visits at times when the risk of congestion is small and changing rooms are avoided during any training.
Refrain from participating, for example, in meetings, concerts, performances, sports training, matches and competitions.
It applies to events that bring together many people at the same time, both indoors and outdoors. The risk of spreading the infection increases in these situations and is also risky with travel to and from such events.
Since the impact of children and young people in spreading the infection is low, they can continue to play their sport. However, you should avoid unnecessary physical contact and share water bottles and protection. It is good that the accompanying adults simply pick up the child and drop him off at training to avoid new contacts.
Matches or competitions should not be held, neither for children nor for adults, as this often involves meeting new people and because it can be difficult to refrain from participating despite having symptoms.
Professional sports, that is. Sports practiced as a profession are not covered by this Council.
Avoid having physical contact with people other than those you live.
By physical contact we mean people you know who are between 1 and 1.5 meters apart, and where the meeting itself lasts more than 15 minutes.
Avoid activities that cannot be done without physical distance from others. These can be private events like parties, weddings and afterwork, and health and beauty care that is not medically justified, for example. massage, foot care or hairdressing.
Avoid riding public transportation or other public transportation.
The council is not intended to prevent people from, for example, going to work, study / employment or the care that requires you to be on site. However, even in these situations, if possible, you should avoid traveling during peak hours and plan your trip so that you can choose another exit if there is congestion on public transport. If you must travel, it is important to keep your distance and not sit directly next to another person.
See more:
Watch Löfven’s press conference earlier this week.
