Some European countries seeing rising levels of COVID-19 infections are instituting tight restrictions prior to Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Sweden, which has been an outlier in Europe and much of the world, has reversed course and is recommending its residents to wear face masks at certain times. Prime Minister Stefan Lofven announced Friday that the country is “recommending face masks and that they should be used on public transport at certain times.”
Additionally, Lofven said that as of Christmas Eve, the number of people allowed at restaurant tables will be capped at four, and alcohol will not be able to be sold in bars and restaurants after 8 p.m.
“The situation unfortunately continues to be very serious. The spread of infection is high, and the situation in healthcare is very strained,” he said, according to France 24.
Sweden has previously relied on social distancing and appeals to its residents’ civic duty as a way of keeping infections down, but it appears that has started to falter because COVID-19 diagnoses in the Nordic country have grown in recent weeks.
“We don’t think it will have a deciding effect, but in this specific situation, it can have a positive effect,” said Johan Carlson, the director of the Public Health Agency.
Italy on Friday announced more nationwide lockdowns during the holidays with bars, restaurants, and nonessential shops being shut down between Christmas Eve and Dec. 27. Another lockdown is planned to occur between New Year’s Eve and Jan. 3, and a third lockdown is planned for Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, when the country marks the Feast of the Epiphany.
“The situation is still difficult. It’s difficult across the whole of Europe,” said Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. “The virus continues to circulate everywhere. We can bend it, but we cannot defeat it. This is why even among our experts, there is a strong concern that the contagion curve could surge during the Christmas period.”
In Great Britain, cases have also been on the rise, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who himself was hospitalized for COVID-19, refused to rule out imposing England’s third lockdown.
“Obviously, we’re hoping very much that we’ll be able to avoid anything like that, but the reality is that the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks,” he told Sky News.
In Northern Ireland, a six-week lockdown is set to begin the day after Christmas and will feature all nonessential stores closing and restaurants being limited to carryout-only options.
Since the pandemic began, there have been more than 75 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, resulting in some 1.6 million deaths. Cases and deaths have been increasing globally by 6% over the past two weeks.
