Sweden expands virus restrictions; Danes are likely to end them
Sweden announced on Wednesday that several coronavirus restrictions will be extended by another two weeks, while neighboring Denmark was expected to announce that covid-19 is no longer considered a “socially critical disease” from next month and will remove most restrictions.
– We have an extremely record spread of infection, says Sweden’s Minister of Social Affairs Lena Hallengren. “The assessment is that existing measures must remain in place for another two weeks.”
“If the situation allows it, the restrictions will be lifted after that,” she said.
Karin Tegmark Wisell, head of the Swedish Public Health Agency, said that the reason for extending the restrictions is that a reduction in cases is expected within a couple of weeks. She said that the Scandinavian country had 270,000 new infections in the last seven days and that “our estimate is that during this period at least half a million can fall ill per week.”
In Sweden, which has previously stood out among European nations for its comparatively practical response to the pandemic, has ordered cafes, bars and restaurants to close at 11pm, urging people to work from home whenever possible and saying that distance education was an option in higher education to try to combat increasing covid-19 infections.
At the same time, Denmark is heading in the direction of the opposition.
In a letter to Danish lawmakers on Tuesday, Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said he wanted to follow the recommendations of Parliament’s epidemic commission so that “the categorization of covid-19 as a socially critical disease will be abolished from 1 February.”
The letter stated “this is a new epidemic situation where a high and increasing infection does not lead to hospital stays to the same extent as before.” The letter was received by the Associated Press on Wednesday ahead of a planned press conference with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
It was not immediately clear what restrictions the Danes will end, but they will probably include the digital health pass, which must now be used to enter museums, nightclubs, cafes, party buses and to sit indoors in restaurants.
In Denmark, people over 15 must also flash their passports when participating in outdoor events where the capacity exceeds 2,000.
In Finland, Prime Minister Sanna Marin tweeted that “the government will assess the need for (de) restrictions” and “should consider opening low-risk cultural and sporting events with a covid pass and extending restaurant opening hours at a faster schedule than previously estimated.”
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