Sweden will remove the corona measures next week
Sweden follows Denmark and Norway: Opens up from 9 February.
The case is being updated
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson held a press conference on the implementation of corona measures on Thursday morning.
The Omikron wave hit Sweden with full force a few weeks after Denmark and Norway. But in the last month, the spread of infection has been fierce. Sick leave is also at a record high in many companies.
Therefore, the government chose to extend the infection control measures (see below) until 9 February last week. Well, they are announcing changes.
– Time to open up
Andersson said at the press conference that they are removing the corona measures from 9 February. The government is asking employers to prepare for people being able to return to work.
The Prime Minister justified the change on the grounds that vaccination coverage is high and that they have gained more knowledge about the omicron variant. Soon, more than half of adult Swedes will have received the third dose.
– It’s time to open up, Andersson said.
This means that requirements and recommendations on distance and number of boundaries are removed.
The Prime Minister himself is looking forward to going to a restaurant to celebrate his 55th birthday. When she turned one, she herself was corona sick.
These measures are removed
Sweden has had the following corona measures in recent weeks.They are valid until 9 February:
- There are restrictions on how many people can gather in public places. Where there are more than 20, everyone must have a seat and at least one meter between them.
- For events with more than 50 participants, a vaccination pass may be required.
- In restaurants, you can be a maximum of eight together, and it must be at least one meter between the parties. It is only allowed with seated guests, and they must close no later than kl. 23.
- It is thanks to 500 visitors at trade fairs.
- In stores and malls, it can not be too many at a time. It must be at least 10 square meters per. person. The same goes for cultural events.
Will not count covid-19 as a socially critical disease
All of these measures will be removed from February 9th. The Swedish government will soon propose that covid-19 is no longer considered a socially dangerous disease. Minister of Social Affairs Lena Hallengren said that although the infection “exploded” after the New Year, the number of dead and seriously ill has not increased in the same way.
However, some recommendations will be until April 1:
- Everyone over the age of 12 should be vaccinated.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Unvaccinated people are urgently needed.
- The health and care service must continue to have infection control measures.
There are also new rules for how long you should be at home when you are infected: Those who have tested positive must be at home for at least 5 days and at least 2 days without fever. In Norway, the rule is that you must be home for at least 4 days.
Greatest ordeal since the war
The Danish government removed all coronary restrictions from 1 February. The Norwegian government removed many of the Norwegians that evening.
The Swedish Prime Minister thanked the Swedish people for holding together during the pandemic. She said that the state has spent 400 billion kroner on both health services and crisis measures for Swedish business. Andersson also said that the pandemic has shown that both the health service and elderly care need to be strengthened.
– It has been the biggest ordeal Sweden has been through since World War II, Andersson said.
Sweden has received a lot of attention for its corona strategy. The country has never been shut down in the same way as neighboring countries, although measures have become stricter. Far more Swedes have died in the pandemic than in the other Nordic countries. Over 16,000 Swedes have died with or from the coronavirus.
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said that Sweden is among the countries in Europe with the lowest excess mortality and reminded that the economy is on the way back.
The infection figures (see graph below) show that Denmark still has the highest spread of infection. But that is probably because they test much more than Sweden.