Sweden will implement more covid measures when Omicron pressures healthcare
Sweden will introduce more measures to stop an increasing number of covid cases that have placed a greater burden on healthcare, said Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on Monday.
Sweden has seen the fastest spread of covid cases in recent weeks as the Omicron variant has increased throughout the country. A record 60,000 cases were discovered last week, despite limited testing opportunities. “The situation has deteriorated, no doubt. The level of infection in Sweden is at a historically high level,” Andersson said at a press conference.
The new measures, most of which will be introduced on Wednesday, include a mandate to work from home, where possible, and a ceiling on the number of people allowed at public events. Restaurants will need to close at 11pm and guests must sit and in groups of no more than eight people. Adults will be encouraged to limit social contact in indoor environments.
The measures will be evaluated after two weeks, but are expected to be in place for at least four weeks. Despite the fact that the number of infections has soared, the number of covid patients in hospitals is far below the peaks seen in previous waves. The number of new deaths has also been comparatively low.
More than 1,000 people are cared for in covid hospitals and about 100 of them are in intensive care units. The strain on healthcare is exacerbated by the spread of other respiratory viruses and staff shortages, says the National Board of Health and Welfare.
“Unfortunately, we have to make another effort to reduce the number of new infections,” Andersson said. The health authority said on Monday that the peak of the wave will come later than previously expected and that the Omicron variant made the disease more difficult to predict. The previous assessment was a peak in mid-January and then a gradual decline.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)