The Swedish government announced strict upcoming coronavirus-related restrictions amid rising case numbers, even though the Scandinavian nation didn’t lock down earlier during the pandemic.
Prime Minister Stefan Lofven announced the new restrictions on Monday during a press conference, according to Business Insider. The restrictions include limiting the size of public gatherings and halting fans from attending concerts, performances, and sports matches. Schools, workplaces, and private gatherings are not included in the ban.
In-person gatherings, which were allowed as long as they were less than 50 people, will now be cut to a maximum of eight people.
“It is a clear and sharp signal to every person in our country as to what applies in the future. Don’t go to the gym. Don’t go to the library. Don’t have dinner out. Don’t have parties — cancel!” Lofven explained. “It’s going to get worse.”
The new rules are set to go into effect on Nov. 24 and are slated to last four weeks.
The change in Sweden’s policy is drastic, given they never shut down their country like most of the world. The deviation has come at a time when cases are going up in many parts of the country.
Sweden recorded nearly 6,000 new cases of COVID-19 last Friday, raising its total number of confirmed infections to 192,439. That number is significantly higher than neighboring countries such as Denmark (65,067), Finland (19,647), and Norway (29,749), all of whom have about one-third of the number of cases or fewer, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker. Sweden’s population is about twice the size of any of the three other countries.
There have been 6,225 coronavirus-related deaths in Sweden during the pandemic.
