Sweden is expanding the rules for covid vaccination as the number of hospital stays increases
By Johan Ahlander and Simon Johnson
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden will require visitors from other Nordic nations to have a vaccine pass to cross the border as it tightens restrictions on the growing number of covid-19 infections and concerns about the Omicron variant, the government said on Thursday.
Sweden has seen new infections increase in recent days, albeit from levels below most European countries. It has reintroduced a limited number of measures and the authorities said that further steps would be needed if the infections continued to increase.
“The new virus variant Omicron makes it difficult to predict how things will develop,” said Health Minister Lena Hallengren at a press conference. “In Sweden, we are relatively better off, but even here the infections and the burden on healthcare are increasing.”
The extension of the vaccine passport rules to Nordic countries, so far the only nations not covered by the requirement, will enter into force on 21 December.
The authorities also warned that stricter restrictions may well be announced next week when the Swedish Public Health Agency publishes an update on how it views the pandemic developing in the future.
Sweden reported 4,022 new cases on Thursday, lower than the day before but among the highest daily increases since late spring. Sweden, with about 10 million inhabitants, now has over 500 patients in need of care for covid-19, of which 79 are in intensive care.
– We have an increase in cases and it has also led to a slightly higher burden on healthcare, said Britta Björkholm’s official at the health authority at a press conference and added that cases were expected to continue to increase.
Sweden has 84 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant, but Bjorkholm said that the actual number will probably be higher as sequencing can take up to two weeks.
Despite the increased number of cases, the situation in Sweden has made some researchers scratch their heads. Neighboring Denmark, with a population about half the size of Sweden, reported 10,000 new cases on Thursday.
Sweden’s center-left government has drawn up a three-part roadmap for its response to an increase in infections.
Norway has tightened restrictions to limit the spread of the Omicron variant among record-breaking infections and hospital stays.
Denmark has also reintroduced many restrictions, including the closure of primary schools before Christmas.
(Report by Simon Johnson and Johan Ahlander; Edited by Niklas Pollard and Alison Williams)