Sweden is the model Viruses virus. Lockdowns and mask mandates don’t work. See California, Peru, Italy, UK, Spain, Ontario and SO MANY MORE.
If you don't like your government public health policy... Move to Sweden. The question will then be...what will you do after Sweden mandates face mask wear and then does its first lockdown ??? Oh...tough life decisions. wrbtrader
Sweden Target of world hate... Anti mask policies... and stealth herd immunity.... Doing the same or a bit better than Germany at the moment and far better than the EU as whole I would bet without looking. just click the link 2 below if you wish to see proof... its the johns hopkins data... (in the quote below) for the official data click just below... https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/09f821667ce64bf7be6f9f87457ed9aa/page/page_0/ https://ourworldindata.org/coronavi...othing=7&pickerMetric=location&pickerSort=asc[/QUOTE]
Coronavirus: The latest news about the outbreak in Sweden The Public Health Agency's general director Johan Carlson at Friday's government press conference. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT This article remains completely free for everyone. But due to the coronavirus crisis we rely more than ever on our paying members and our coverage is only possible with your support. If you haven't yet, please consider joining as a member to support our independent journalism. Thank you. Summary: As of December 22nd, 8,167 people have been confirmed as having died after testing positive for the coronavirus in Sweden (up from 7,993 on December 18th). The increase is not all from the past 24 hours, due to a delay in how the regions report their data. Sweden updates its data Tuesday-Friday at 2pm. Since the start of the outbreak, 3,815 coronavirus patients have been in intensive care as of December 22nd, which also includes fatalities and patients who have recovered and been discharged (up from 3,713 on December 18th). There have been 389,439 confirmed cases of the coronavirus according to data reported on December 22nd (up from 367,120 reported on December 18th). Everyone in Sweden is urged to stay at home and get a coronavirus test if they are at all sick (even a mild cough or sore throat), practice social distancing, work from home if possible, avoid public transport as much as possible, and socialise with as few people as possible. Read more about the current rules here. December 22nd: With the latest restrictions on the Swedish population...government threats (hints) about face mask wearing mandates and a possible lockdowns... Maybe Sweden will turn the tide and better manage Covid-19 until they get vaccinated which will then result in vaccination herd immunity as many world health officials have stated was the only way to achieve herd immunity (not natural herd immunity). ---------- The total death toll since the start of the outbreak has reached 8,167. In total, 389,439 people have tested positive for the virus and 3,815 have received treatment in intensive care. All regions said they expected the situation to get worse in both the short and long term, according to the National Board of Health and Welfare. There were 697 intensive care places available with ventilators, 538 of them occupied, 55 percent of these with Covid-19 patients. Johanna Sandwall, the agency's head of crisis preparedness, said these numbers were only expected to increase over the coming weeks due to the increased spread of infection in Sweden. Sweden's entry ban on people travelling from the UK came into effect at midnight and applies to travel by plane, boat or car, initially for a month. There is also a separate ban on all UK-Sweden flights until 4pm on Wednesday, over concerns of a new Covid strain. Swedish citizens cannot be prevented from entering the country (although even for citizens there may be other complications such as cancelled flights). But a spokesperson confirmed to The Local that British citizens with residence permits, residence status or who were planning to move to live in Sweden are not exempt from the entry ban. If you recently arrived in Sweden from the UK, you should follow a number of guidelines, including getting tested and staying at home for at least a week. Read more about the entry ban HERE. Sweden has also imposed an entry ban on people travelling from Denmark, which came into effect at midnight and is also set to last for a month. Swedish citizens are exempt, as are non-citizens who live or work in Sweden, and people working in transportation of goods. The mutated virus found in the UK has also been discovered in Denmark, but the entry ban in this case is mainly based on the high strain on healthcare in the neighbouring Skåne region, while large parts of society including shops and restaurants are closed in Denmark but not Sweden. "There is an obvious risk that Danes will be tempted to cross over to Sweden to shop for Christmas presents or spend time in Malmö for instance," said Home Affairs Minister Mikael Damberg. December 20th: Sweden will join a growing list of countries to ban travel from the UK over concerns of a new Covid strain, the Swedish government confirmed on Sunday. Here's what we know so far, which isn't much. The decision is expected to come into force "as soon as possible" (the Swedish interior minister's words) and we're expecting to get more details tomorrow. December 18th: A further 100 people have been confirmed as having died with the coronavirus in Sweden, bringing the total death toll since the start of the outbreak to 7,993. In total, 367,120 people have tested positive for the virus and 3,713 have received treatment in intensive care. In a major U-turn, the Public Health Agency will recommend the use of face masks on public transport at certain times, primarily rush hour. The new guidelines will be presented before many people return to work after the Christmas break on January 7th, the agency's director Johan Carlson said. The news about face masks came at a government press conference with Prime Minister Stefan Löfven as well as the Deputy Prime Minister, Health Minister, Education Minister, and general director of the Public Health Agency, where several more changes to the national recommendations were announced: A ban on post-8pm alcohol sales at bars and restaurants (currently banned after 10pm) from December 24th There will be a maximum limit on people who can be in shops or gyms at the same time Upper secondary schools will continue distance learning until at least January 24th (currently until January 6th) A maximum of four people will be allowed per group at restaurants (currently the maximum is eight people) Here's a full list of the new measures. The Local also managed to get a short interview with Swedish Health Minister Lena Hallengren after the government announced the new coronavirus measures. Here's what she had to say. (by @Richard_Orange) https://t.co/FCBdrV83XZ — Emma Löfgren (@ekjlofgren) December 18, 2020 Sweden has extended its entry ban for non-EU countries until March 31st next year. The Public Health Agency has warned pregnant women to be "extra careful not to get sick with Covid-19". More 'rapid tests' or antigen tests for Covid-19 -- which give an initial result within 15 minutes -- will be used within the medical and care sectors, the government and Sweden's Municipalities and Regions (SKR) announced. December 17th: Sweden's total coronavirus death toll has now risen to 7,893, and it is likely to keep rising unless the spread of infection drops sharply, warned state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell at today's bi-weekly press conference. A total of 357,466 people have tested positive for coronavirus to date, and 3,691 patients have been in intensive care. Each year public broadcaster SVT releases the programme Året med kungafamiljen (The year with the royal family), and this year features Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf describing 2020 as "terrible" and the national coronavirus strategy as having "failed". You can read more (in English) in The Local's daily news round-up. Sweden updated its travel advice yesterday, removing advice against travel to three EU countries (Ireland, Estonia and Latvia). This means there is no foreign ministry travel warning if travelling within the EU/EEA and UK, although Foreign Minister Ann Linde urged everyone in Sweden to carefully consider whether travel was necessary and, if it was, make sure they followed local guidelines and planned their return trip. The ban on entry to Sweden from countries outside the bloc is still in place until January 31st. There are exceptions to the ban, including for EU/EEA citizens and people moving to live in Sweden, but visiting family or friends over Christmas is not one of the exception criteria. You can find more information on the exemptions here. What you need to know about travel in Sweden (and abroad) over Christmas and New Year December 16th: Sweden's total coronavirus death toll has risen to 7,802, with another 135 deaths reported. There's still a delay in how Sweden's 21 regions report their data, so those are not all from the past 24 hours. This also means that unless there's a sharp drop, the actual death toll is most likely higher than 7,802 today, due to this reporting lag. A total of 348,585 people have tested positive for the coronavirus to date, and 3,664 patients have been admitted to intensive care since the start of the outbreak. Swedish doctors, nurses and assistant nurses working at six of the country's seven university hospitals, have together clocked up almost 1.5 million hours' worth of overtime in the first ten months of the year, according to data obtained by public radio broadcaster Ekot. Overtime is not a new phenomenon in the healthcare sector, but that's more than 200,000 hours more than last year, and is linked to extra work due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sweden failed to protect care home residents from the coronavirus and the government is to blame – although other individual agencies and authorities bear responsibility – according to the country's coronavirus commission's first report. The panel is investigating the response to the coronavirus from the government and other authorities. On Tuesday, their first report was presented, which looks specifically at the handling of the pandemic in the elderly care sector. A final report, covering multiple aspects of the approach, is expected in early 2022. December 15th: Sweden's total coronavirus death toll has risen to 7,667, with 153 new deaths reported since Friday. A total of 341,029 people have tested positive for the coronavirus to date, and 3,631 patients have been admitted to intensive care since the start of the outbreak, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. The agency's Sara Byfors reiterated the new national recommendations that came into effect yesterday, including: work from home if possible, stay at home if you have symptoms of the coronavirus (however mild) and get tested, avoid any environments with crowding. "We have updated the advice around how you should socialise. Previously we had advice that you should avoid larger social gatherings, now the advice is that you should only socialise within a small circle, so it is a clear tightening from the previous advice," she said. December 14th: Sweden's new national coronavirus guidelines came into effect today, including recommendations to socialise with as few people as possible, "people you live with or just a few friends and relatives outside your household". Read more about the current rules here. If you have a Swedish mobile phone, you probably received a mass SMS sent by the government reminding you about the new rules. Sweden registered more deaths last month than in any other November in more than 100 years, making it the deadliest November since the year the Spanish flu broke out. All of Sweden's 21 regions are increasing their number of available places for intensive care after available capacity fell below 17 percent last week (the minimum target is 20 percent). At Malmö's infection clinic, a large outbreak of coronavirus meant that around a third to half of its nurses and doctors tested positive for the virus. The region hopes that rapid tests giving a result in 15 minutes will help curb similar outbreaks. December 11th: Another 160 people have been confirmed dead after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing Sweden's total death toll to 7,514 people. A total of 320,098 people have tested positive to date, and 3,537 patients have been admitted to intensive care since the start of the outbreak, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. Stockholm is to shift 13- to 15-year-old schoolchildren to online distance learning from Monday, regional health authorities announced, saying the decision had been taken on the advice of regional infectious diseases doctors. Sweden's public health and emergency preparedness agencies are to send out a test message to every mobile phone in the country in the hope of boosting public awareness of the new national recommendations for Christmas and the New Year which come into force next Monday. December 10th Another 58 people have been confirmed dead after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing Sweden's total death toll to 7,354 people. A total of 312,728 people have tested positive to date, and 3,510 patients have been admitted to intensive care since the start of the outbreak, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. In some parts of Sweden, medical and care workers are returning to work despite living with a confirmed Covid-19 patient and without being tested themselves. A report by Sveriges Radio found that the regions of Jönköping, Stockholm and Östergötland have been forced to cut down on testing of asymptomatic staff who share a household with a Covid-19 patient, due to lack of testing capacity. Camilla Johansson, the head of elderly care in the Jönköping municipality, said that this could be a problem because "we know that you can be infected without feeling a single symptom". Significantly more 80-year-olds are receiving intensive care treatment for Covid-19 in Sweden compared with the spring, when there were concerns about prioritisation methods denying patients in their 80s intensive care treatment in order to keep places available. In early May, 11 people or seven percent of new admissions to intensive care were over 80, the highest number of the spring. By mid-November, 25 over-80s were admitted that week, corresponding to 16 percent. Sten Walther, associate professor, doctor and the National Board of Health and Welfare's expert on Covid-19 and intensive care, said it was impossible to say why the change had happened, but that one reason could be increased understanding of how to treat over-80s with Covid-19 and that there was a chance of survival despite high mortality among the age group. "In the data set the reasons are not visible. But today we know that 80-year-olds' results [from the treatment] are by no means hopeless," he told the TT newswire. The government is extending a rule change which means you won't need to provide a doctor's note when off sick from work until after two weeks of sickness, Dagens Nyheter reports. The requirement for a doctor's note after the first week of sickness was first suspended in March in order to reduce the number of people visiting primary care centres and so reduce the burden on healthcare workers. Today in Sweden: A round-up of the latest news on Thursday https://t.co/tWmNByLVi8 — The Local Sweden (@TheLocalSweden) December 10, 2020 December 9th: Another 96 people have been confirmed dead after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing Sweden's total death toll to 7,296. A total of 304,793 people have tested positive to date, and 3,493 Covid-19 patients have been admitted to intensive care since the start of the outbreak. Stockholm is now reporting that 99 percent of its intensive care beds are currently occupied, both by Covid-19 patients and other patients. You can read more in Swedish on DN, and here's The Local's article in English. This is very serious: Stockholm's ICUs at 99% capacity. There were more Covid-19 patients in spring, but back then hospitals were able to go into crisis mode and massively scale up, but they can't keep going like that indefinitely. https://t.co/nPuC6woQ0Y — Emma Löfgren (@ekjlofgren) December 9, 2020 The government wants to introduce a temporary pandemic law, giving it increased powers to make decisions to curb the spread of an infectious disease such as the coronavirus. The Swedish government is currently not able to close down places that are not covered by the Public Order Act, which has limited its power to act during the crisis, compared to many other countries. The new law would cover public gatherings and public events, but would also include leisure and cultural venues, for example gyms. It would also apply to shopping centres and public transport, and party venues, but not to people's homes. The government will now consult various expert agencies and authorities as well as other parties in parliament to fine-tune the details, and if approved the law would come into force on March 15th, said Health Minister Lena Hallengren. Read more here. Everyone living in Sweden aged over 18 – and children in risk groups – will be offered the Covid-19 vaccine within the first six months of 2021, pledged Health Minister Lena Hallengren and Marie Morell, head of the healthcare department of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, at a press conference late on Tuesday. Vaccinations are currently expected to get under way after Epiphany, and will initially be offered to risk groups. The state is responsible for securing the doses – which it has done through EU deals – and paying for them, and the regions are in charge of the vaccination process. Vaccinations are intended to be free for each individual. TODAY IN SWEDEN: A round-up of the latest news on Wednesday December 8th: A total of 297,732 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 7,200 fatalities and 3,459 intensive care admissions, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. The government announced the national coronavirus recommendations which will apply over the festive period. The key message was to meet as few people as possible, sticking to a 'bubble' of no more than eight people total. We asked The Local's readers what measures they would like to see in Sweden, and the most common responses were a recommendation or obligation to wear face masks; improvements to the testing and contact tracing systems; and stricter enforcement of existing recommendations. Read more here. December 4th: A total of 278,912 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 7,067 fatalities and 3,384 intensive care admissions, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. Sweden's state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell has acknowledged that he underestimated the number of Covid-19 deaths in mid-November, when the number of deaths reached levels not seen since May. Here's what he said when asked about this at the press conference yesterday, and his answer to The Local's follow-up question. The Public Health Agency is preparing a plan for how Sweden will carry out coronavirus vaccinations once the first doses of vaccine are approved, and has outlined the next steps. The government expects to eventually be able to offer vaccinations to everyone aged over 18, and has pledged that they will be free for each individual. The groups that will get access to the first doses are: People staying in elderly care homes or people receiving social care support at home People who come into contact with vulnerable people in elderly care, healthcare and other social care Adults who live together with people who receive social care support at home December 3rd: A total of 272,643 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 7,007 fatalities and 3,364 intensive care admissions, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. Sweden's upper secondary schools are again closing their doors to students from Monday until after Christmas. The decision means that upper secondary schools (generally teenagers aged around 16-18 in Sweden) will have to quickly switch back to online teaching for the rest of the semester, from December 7th until January 6th. December 2nd: Another 174 deaths of people who had tested positive for coronavirus were confirmed today, bringing Sweden's total death toll to 6,972. There's still a delay in how the regions report their data, so those are not all people who died in the past 24 hours, but be that as it may, as many people are now dying as in late spring, early summer. A total of 266,158 people have tested positive in Sweden to date, and 3,325 Covid-19 patients have at one point been admitted to intensive care. We are expecting new recommendations regarding the Christmas holidays to come next week, but for now, here's a paywall-free link to Sweden's current rules and guidelines on how to help curb the spread of the virus. The Swedish foreign ministry has extended its advice against travel to Ireland, Latvia and Estonia until at least December 16th. Here's a link to the latest travel warnings. December 1st: Symptom-free children should stay home from school if someone in their household tests positive for Covid-19, according to a new decision by the Public Health Agency. This recommendation was previously in place for adults and older teenagers, but has now been extended to young children. However, the agency said the decision was mainly intended to "create a calm working atmosphere" for worried teachers, and would have little effect on the spread of infection. We've written more about the decision here. A total of 260,758 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 6,798 fatalities and 3,302 intensive care admissions, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. "We clearly have a wide spread of infection which really hasn't stopped, and which we all need to help out to get under control," said state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who said the rise in cases affected all age groups. He said that authorities were working on recommendations ahead of the Christmas period, which are likely be made public early next week. Thomas Lindén, department head at the National Board of Health and Welfare, said that Sweden currently has 666 intensive care beds with ventilators, of which 464 are occupied, 237 of them Covid-19 patients. It's the first time since spring that the majority of patients in intensive care have Covid-19. Outside intensive care, a further 1,802 Covid-19 patients are receiving care in Sweden's hospitals. "The healthcare sector is getting better and better at understanding and managing the emergency cases, but major challenges remain," said Lindén. November 27th: A total of 243,129 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 6,681 fatalities and 3,208 intensive care admissions, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. The Blekinge region is now getting local coronavirus guidelines (allmänna råd) issued by the Public Health Agency, starting December 1st. The region has previously had its own recommendations in place, but this decision means that all Swedish regions will now be subject to the Public Health Agency's local guidelines. In practice, Blekinge's own recommendations were fairly similar, so this is not a huge change. MAP: These are Sweden's local coronavirus guidelines where you live The Public Health Agency has said it will announce coronavirus measures for the Christmas season next week, but state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell says a total ban on non-essential travel won't happen. "We will not end up with some kind of total travel ban," he told Thursday's press conference. "It will be possible to travel, but you have to do it in a very responsible way." Under current recommendations, people in certain regions are urged to avoid non-essential travel within and from the region, while in most places, a recommendation to avoid public transport applies if possible. Under national recommendations, everyone in Sweden is asked to choose alternative methods of transport (ideally private means such as a car, cycling or walking, or an option where you can pre-book a ticket if those are not possible) instead of public transport as much as they can. Of course, for people living in a different country to their family, Christmas travel is a different question. There are still many restrictions on international travel, particularly to non-EU countries, and limited flight availability. Companies receiving financial support for reduced turnover due to the pandemic will be eligible for more money than previously announced, after the government agreed with its partners the Centre and Liberal parties on the details. Additional support for short-term lay-offs, which tops up the pay of employees who temporarily have no work, will be in place until next summer. Support for loss in turnover will also be in place until at least the end of 2020. The government and its partners have now agreed on the threshold at which companies will be eligible for support. They will need to have lost at least 40 percent in turnover during the August-October period, and 30 percent during the November-December period. According to the TT newswire, the same rules will apply to sole traders. If you're an affected business owner, more information on coronavirus support can be found at Verksamt. November 26th: A total of 236,355 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 6,622 fatalities and 3,187 intensive care admissions, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. This graph shared by the Public Health Agency today shows excess mortality in Sweden. Teal shows non-Covid deaths in Sweden over the past 5 years, orange shows deaths confirmed as linked to Covid-19 pic.twitter.com/ZrGr71BFir — Catherine Edwards (@CatJREdwards) November 26, 2020 Two members of Sweden's royal family, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, are quarantining after testing positive for Covid-19, the Swedish Royal Court announced on Thursday. Sweden's current coronavirus outbreak is expected to peak in mid-December based on a new scenario presented by the Public Health Agency and government on Thursday. But the actual outcome depends on several factors, including crucially whether people follow current recommendations, such as keeping a distance in public and only having close contact with people you live with (or one or two other people if you live alone). If that does not happen, the outcome will be worse, Public Health Agency director Johan Carlson said. He explained that because the coronavirus is a new virus it is not possible to compare to how it has developed in previous years, so it relies on a mathematical model based on what we know about the situation now, and is sensitive to several external factors. November 25th: A total of 230,514 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 6,555 fatalities and 3,162 intensive care admissions, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. More and more people are buying face masks at Swedish pharmacies, reports the TT news agency, despite the country being among the very few in the world that have not issued an official coronavirus recommendation to wear face masks in crowded spaces. More resources are needed for patients with long-term symptoms of Covid-19, according to the Svenska Covidförening, a patients' association with over 1,400 members. The association recently released a report highlighting some of the problems faced by sufferers of the condition known as 'long Covid'. "It is a huge problem that it is not talked about. There is a great risk that people's perception is that the problem does not exist. And we want to show that it actually does," said chairperson Åsa Kristoferson Hedlund. She compared the situation in Sweden with that of the UK, where money has been allocated to open dozens of specialist clinics for those with long-term symptoms. A report shared by Sweden's healthcare watchdog on Tuesday was highly critical of the treatment of some care home residents during the coronavirus pandemic, including that some patients died without ever being given an assessment by a doctor. Of the 6,500 deaths linked to Covid-19 in Sweden, nearly half have occurred at elderly care homes and a quarter have been elderly people being cared for at home. You can read more about the conclusions of the report here. November 24th: A total of 225,560 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 6,500 fatalities and 3,125 intensive care admissions, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. The regional restrictions have been extended until at least December 13th in all regions except Blekinge, which is the only one not to have stricter recommendations agreed with the Public Health Agency. Blekinge's restrictions are very similar to those in place elsewhere, but are currently set to be in place on November 30th. You can read more about the recommendations in every region here. November 23rd: All public events in Sweden for more than eight people will be banned after the country's regions agreed to lower the limit for seated events from 50 to eight people. The decision, confirmed to The Local by a press spokesperson for the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR), comes a week after the government announced a ban on public events for more than eight people. The ban applies to public events such as concerts, performances, and sports matches, but not to places like schools or workplaces or to private gatherings. The government has granted an exemption for funerals, which may have up to 20 people present. Read more here. Skåne, the southernmost region of Sweden, may see the number of Covid-19 patients in hospital peak around the Christmas holidays, reports regional newspaper Sydsvenskan. This is based on three scenarios hospital management developed a few months ago. The worst-case scenario, based on the situation in Stockholm in spring, would lead to 250 Covid-19 patients in hospital and another 30 in intensive care, explains the TT newswire. "Unfortunately we can't say for certain that we've broken the curve. Our hope is that the tightened general guidelines for Skåne will lead to that, but we don't know," Mats E Persson, head of the Skåne regional crisis management team, told Sydsvenskan. A total of 151 Covid-19 patients are currently being treated in hospital in Skåne, and 19 in intensive care, according to the region's latest available data on Sunday. TODAY IN SWEDEN: A round-up of the latest news on Monday November 22nd: Here's a rare update from us on a weekend, because Prime Minister Stefan Löfven gave a rare address to the nation today. There were no new announcements, but he focused a lot on personal responsibility, urging everyone to do their part to curb the spread of coronavirus "as we head into the winter darkness". "The things we do wrong now as a country, we will suffer for later. The things we do right, will give us joy later," he said, adding that people should limit their close contacts to those in the same household, or if they live alone, to one or two people (and remember to keep a physical distance to each other). "What we do now will affect what our Lucia celebrations will look like. What Christmas celebrations will look like. Who will still be there with us this Christmas. It may sound harsh. It may sound brutal. But reality is exactly that harsh and brutal." He also stressed "to you who feel that everything is dark" that there was still hope. "Healthcare and social care is working, despite everything. Houses and roads are being built, despite everything. Our children are receiving an education and desire to learn, despite everything. We should take the situation very seriously, but we should do so with restraint, firmness and courage." Read Löfven's full speech in English here. These kinds of PM speeches are very rare in Sweden. There have been only four in history according to @svtnyheter: Carl Bildt on the 'Laser Man' shootings in 1992 Göran Persson after the murder of foreign minister Anna Lindh, 2003 Stefan Löfven, twice this year as of tonight — Emma Löfgren (@ekjlofgren) November 22, 2020 November 20th: A total of 208,295 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 6,406 fatalities and 3,042 intensive care admissions, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. The cities of Stockholm and Malmö announced that they would close museums, galleries, gyms and public swimming baths in order to slow the spread of infection. Stockholm also imposed a ban on visits to sheltered housing for the elderly. Malmö said it did not yet want to ban visits to elderly care facilities. Sweden's business minister Ibrahim Baylan called for people to avoid crowding when shopping ahead of this Christmas, following a meeting with the retail trade body Svensk Handel. The government has not so far signalled that it plans to order shops or shopping centres to close. Sweden's ban on the sale of alcohol after 10pm comes into force today. Most municipalities are asking bars and restaurants serving alcohol to close by 10.30pm. Lund will allow them to stay open later, so long as they only serve weak beer or soft drinks. Malmö, Växjö and Nacka will allow bars and restaurants to serve take-out alcohol for consumption at home. November 19th: A total of 201,055 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 6,340 fatalities and 3,016 intensive care admissions, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. A coronavirus expert group set up by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which promotes science in Sweden, has issued a report recommending the use of face masks as "an important measure" to reduce the spread of infection indoors and on public transport. Here's our short article on the report. The Swedish Public Health Agency advised regions to change their testing guidelines so that those without symptoms are no longer advised to seek tests for active coronavirus infections. The new guidelines also recommended them to stop people having repeat tests over a short period. Regional infectious diseases doctors complained about the government's decision to except seated events from its proposal for limit public gatherings to eight people. In their formal response to the government's proposal, the Association of Infectious Diseases Doctors argued that "tough measures in all possible environments" were necessary to bring the infection under control. November 18th: A total of 196,446 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 6,321 fatalities and 3,002 intensive care admissions, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. The Swedish foreign ministry has extended its advice against travel to three EU countries until at least December 2nd. Hospital staff at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm are once again working lengthy shifts of 12.5 hours to handle the pressure caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The World Health Organisation said "masks work" in response to a question about whether recommending mask-wearing would be a useful addition to the Swedish strategy, but stopped short of saying Sweden should introduce such a recommendation. November 17th: A total of 192,439 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 6,225 fatalities and 2,974 intensive care admissions, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. November 16th: Sweden is set to lower the limit of attendees at public events to eight people, to come into effect on November 24th. The new limit applies only to public events and not private gatherings, with Prime Minister Stefan Löfven saying "we can't regulate every social gathering" but urging people to follow the new limit at all kinds of events. The limit will be part of the Public Order Act and therefore is a law, not a recommendation like many of Sweden's coronavirus measures. It is currently set to apply for four weeks, but could be extended. "It's going to get worse. Do your duty and take responsibility to stop the spread of infection. I'll say it again. It's going to get worse. Do your duty and take responsibility to stop the spread of infection," said Prime Minister Stefan Löfven at the press conference on Monday. Read what we know so far HERE. From November 24th, a maximum of 8 people will be allowed to attend public gatherings. The government can only legislate re public gatherings, but this should be interpreted as setting a standard for private events too, says Löfven. "This is unprecedented in modern times." — Emma Löfgren (@ekjlofgren) November 16, 2020 "There should not be social situations with more than eight people even if they are not formally affected by the law. This is the new norm for the whole society, for all of Sweden. Don't go to the gym. Don't go to the library. Don't have dinners. Don't have parties. Cancel," said Löfven. This is the lowest limit Sweden has had on attendees at public events over the course of the pandemic. The limit was reduced to 50 in March, and was raised to 300 in late October for certain types of seated events only – although several regions chose to keep the lower limit of 50, so it practice the increased limit had little effect. An earlier exemption which meant restaurants were excluded from the limit on event attendees will also be removed when the law change comes into effect. Previously, restaurants have been allowed to host events for more than 50 people, but this will no longer be the case. More than eight people will still be allowed in restaurants at the same time (although not as part of the same group) but the change means restaurants will in practice not be able to host events such as music performances due to the eight-person limit on events. November 13th: The number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date jumped today from 171,365 to 177,355. Those are not all people who tested positive in the past 24 hours, due to a delay in how Swedish regions report their data, but still shows that the number of new cases is on a sharply rising curve right now. A total of 6,164 people have to date passed away after testing positive for coronavirus (that's an increase of 42 compared to the data reported yesterday – again not all from the past 24 hours, but a figure that keeps rising). We have updated our article that gives you nine graphs and maps that explain the situation in Sweden. November 12th: A total of 171,365 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 6,122 fatalities and 2,881 intensive care admisssions, according to the Public Health Agency's latest data. Talks between the leaders of Sweden's political parties about the coronavirus epidemic and response have been restarted in the form of a video call on Wednesday evening, after similar meetings took place in spring. Stockholm has banned visits to elderly care homes from November 12th to 30th after a rise in infections in care home settings, while Gothenburg plans to introduce a similar ban within the next few days. Sweden has rolled out local coronavirus measures to Dalarna, Gotland, Värmland and Västmanland. With these additions, that means 17 of Sweden's 21 regions are currently subject to stricter restrictions issued by the Public Health Agency (allmänna råd or 'general recommendations'). These are not legally binding, so there are no fines for violating them, but are at the same time not considered optional and do have a basis in the Communicable Diseases Act. The Blekinge region has also introduced its own regional recommendations. Effective immediately, the new rules mean that people in the four regions are urged to: If possible, avoid having physical contact with other people than those you live with. That includes among other things a recommendation against organising or attending a party or similar social occasion. You should also avoid certain kinds of activities if they cannot be carried out without physical distance to others, such as contact sports or health or beauty care that is not medically justified. Refrain from being in indoor environment such as shops, shopping centres, museums, libraries, swimming pools and gyms, with the exception of for example grocery stores and pharmacies. Refrain from taking part in meetings, concerts, shows, sports training, matches or competitions. This does not apply to sports training for children and young people born 2005 or later. People living in Dalarna, Värmland and Västmanland are also urged to: Avoid unnecessary travel. Travelling within or between regions could contribute to increased spread of infection because you often meet new people, which starts new chains of transmission. You should therefore, as far as it is possible, refrain from such travel. This recommendation is not intended to prevent people from, for example, going to work, studies/employment or healthcare which requires physical presence. November 11th: The Swedish government is proposing a ban on the sale of alcohol in bars after 10pm, to curb the rapidly increasing spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said at a press conference. This is a legislative measure, so it will have to pass through parliament first, and would come into force on November 20th. This effectively means that venues with an alcohol licence must close at 10.30pm at the latest. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven urged people to take their responsibility: "It also seems like we are moving towards darker times when it comes to the spread of infection [...] Every decision we take makes a difference." We wrote more about this HERE and translates Löfven's speech in full HERE. A total of 166,707 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 6,082 fatalities and 2,866 intensive care admisssions, according to data presented by the Public Health Agency today. ANALYSIS: Is Sweden heading for a national lockdown? November 10th: At today's coronavirus update from Swedish authorities, The Local asked Sara Byfors of the Swedish Public Health Agency if there were any plans to update national data of cases, deaths and intensive care admissions on Mondays or over the weekends. She said: "No, not that I'm aware of and the reason that we don't have it is that the statistics are so incomplete on Mondays that it's difficult to make any judgments of the epidemic from that, so not at this time." When we asked if it would be possible to get more complete statistics on Monday, she said: "I think that's difficult right now." A total of 162,240 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 6,057 fatalities and 2,851 intensive care admissions, according to data presented by the Public Health Agency today. The number of Covid-19 patients receiving hospital treatment is increasing in Sweden's five most populated regions. In Stockholm, that figure is 349 according to the latest update, 146 in Västra Götaland, 111 in Skåne, 67 in Östergötland and 69 in Uppsala. You can read more about that here – take care and stay safe. The Social Democrat-Green government and its partners in parliament, the Centre and Liberals, have agreed on new measures for businesses hit by the pandemic, extending for example furloughing support and a business transition support scheme. Here are the latest updates. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and his wife have ended their corona self-isolation, after testing negative and consulting with a doctor, his press secretary said. Löfven went into isolation last week after a person in his vicinity had met someone who later turned out to have Covid-19, although Löfven himself was not ill. He is not the only party leader taking that precaution. On Sunday Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderates, went into self-quarantine after one of his co-workers tested positive, and the Centre Party's Annie Lööf did the same after a co-worker experienced cold symptoms. Neither of the two politicians have symptoms. The Local asked Sara Byfors of the Public Health Agency if members of the public should isolate if they find themselves in the same situation as the prime minister, where a contact of a contact tests negative. Byfors explained: "It is up to the region and to the smittskyddsläkare [infectious disease doctor] in that region, and also the doctor that makes the test result to the individual, to decide what is a close contact and what is not. So that is not something you can say on a general basis. Stefan Löfven had the possibility to work from home and then you can do that, because that's a recommendation we have for everybody. You have to decide in each case." Read more about the guidance for people who have been in contact with someone who tests positive for Covid-19 in the article below. Coronavirus in Sweden: What you should do if someone you've been in contact with tests positive November 9th: The Swedish foreign ministry has just extended its advisory against non-essential travel to all countries outside the EU, EEA or Schengen area (except the UK) until January 31st next year. Here's the latest information. November 6th: A total of 146,461 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 6,022 fatalities and 2,794 intensive care admissions, according to data presented by the Public Health Agency today. Sole traders should soon be able to apply for coronavirus support to make up for lost revenue due to the coronavirus during spring and summer, with applications set to open on November 9th. Coronavirus outbreaks have been found on a total of ten mink farms in Sweden, but the country has decided not to follow Denmark in culling all its minks. In Denmark, around 15 million minks will be culled after a new mutation of the coronavirus began to spread among both minks and humans, with fears this could make a potential vaccine less effective. But Sweden has not yet seen a mutation of the virus. The UK will reimpose quarantine on travellers from Sweden, meaning anyone travelling from Sweden to the UK will again be required to quarantine for 14 days from Saturday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Thursday evening. November 5th: A total of 141,764 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 6,002 fatalities and 2,782 intensive care admissions, according to data presented by the Public Health Agency today. Stricter local recommendations have been rolled out in two new regions, Södermanland and Kronoberg. This includes a recommendation to avoid indoor environments such as shops and museums, with an exception for essential visits such as buying groceries and pharmacies, and a recommendation to avoid all physical contact with people from a different household. "By avoiding physical contact, we mean that you should not socialise with others at a distance of 1.5 metres, and it is especially important to avoid this kind of contact that lasts longer than 15 minutes," said Karin Tegmark Wisell, head of the Public Health Agency's department for microbiology. She added that essential contact, such as doctor's visits, was not included in this. Here's a reminder of the recommendations that apply wherever you live in Sweden (paywall-free). Lithuania has now been removed from the Swedish foreign ministry's travel advisory list, which means it is one of the countries to where Swedes can travel for any reason, including tourism. Read more here. November 4th: A total of 137,730 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 5,997 fatalities and 2,763 intensive care admissions, according to data presented by the Public Health Agency today. It's increasing quite fast now, and in the Skåne region authorities today warned people to really follow the local coronavirus rules as it reported a growing number of new cases and Covid-19 patients in hospital. Skåne regional director Alf Jönsson told a press conference today: "Each and everyone of us has to ask the question: Do I have to go inside this shop, right now, today? Do I have to meet my colleagues at afterwork [the 'Swedish' word for drinks after work], at work, tonight? Do I have to go to that party I've been invited to on Saturday? Do I have to?" TODAY IN SWEDEN: A round-up of the latest news on Wednesday November 3rd: A total of 134,532 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 5,969 fatalities and 2,750 intensive care admissions, according to data presented by the Public Health Agency today. Three further regions are now covered by stricter local restrictions: Halland, Jönköping and Örebro. That means that eight regions out of 21, or 70 percent of the Swedish population, are now covered by local measures. The exact measures are decided by regional authorities together with the Public Health Agency, and vary between regions. But some common factors include avoiding physical contact with people you do not live with, and that employers should ensure that employees are able to work from home if the nature of their work allows. The latter is also part of the national recommendations that apply everywhere, but is especially crucial in the regions under local measures. Sweden has also announced tougher coronavirus measures for the country's restaurants, with a new rule that only groups of eight people or fewer will be permitted. Public Health Agency general director Johan Carlson emphasised that the recommendation to limit social contacts should still be followed, so that families of three people, for example, should go to restaurants as a group of three. At Tuesday's press conference with Swedish authorities, The Local had a chance to ask state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell two questions. Firstly, we asked state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell for clarification on whether the local recommendation to avoid indoor environments applied to restaurants. "Restaurants are regulated according to other laws and regulations, that's why it's not repeated here. And also for most of the regions we have talked to, they don't really see in their contact tracing that restaurants are a major cause of spread of the disease and that's why we have not repeated the advice here. There is lots of advice on how to avoid the spread in restaurants," he explained. We also asked if Sweden had changed its stance on the importance of airborne transmission of the virus, and whether this was reflected in the new measures. "There has been a lot of discussion on airborne or droplet transmission," he said. "I think, to me and the agency, that's not really important. We do realise that both kinds of spread can occur, droplet is by far the most important one which you can also see if you look at the homepage of [the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] CDC and others. "We believe that the most important thing now is to be able to localise which is the environment where we see spread, and we need to avoid those environments and places. And the problem we have right now is there's a fair amount of private parties, work-related meetings and so on, and that's the kind of activities that we now need to reduce." November 2nd: So many Stockholmers have been ordering home test kits for Covid-19 that regional health authorities have decided to temporarily pause the scheme until Thursday while they work their way through a backlog of 16,000 tests. This only affects tests for people who order their home test kits themselves via Sweden's healthcare website 1177.se, not other testing such as that of patients and staff in the healthcare sector, nor elderly care. October 30th: A total of 124,355 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 5,938 fatalities and 2,712 intensive care admissions, according to data presented by the Public Health Agency today. As you know if you've been reading this blog, five Swedish regions have so far introduced tighter coronavirus recommendations on a regional level. We've put together a round-up of what the rules are where you live. The day after people in Skåne were advised to avoid public transport, rush hour traffic fell 10 percent. The Local spoke to the local traffic director about how he's using an online map to cut congestion and fight coronavirus. Sweden marks All Saints' Day on October 31st, usually by gathering at cemeteries to remember dead relatives. This year, authorities have reminded people to avoid crowding at the busiest sites, such as the Woodland Cemetery in Stockholm, by spreading their visit out through the week, choosing a less popular time to go, or even marking the day online instead. Some chapels and churches have opted to close on Saturday to ensure that people remain outdoors, while others are live-streaming their ceremonies rather than allow visitors. Today in Sweden: A round-up of the latest news https://t.co/SNzGsvevaZ — The Local Sweden (@TheLocalSweden) October 30, 2020 October 29th: A total of 121,167 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Sweden to date, including 5,934 fatalities and 2,698 intensive care admissions, according to data presented by the Public Health Agency today. State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said that the spread of infection was still lower than in the spring, with many more cases discovered now because of limited testing capacity in the first few months of the pandemic. These graphs by @Folkhalsomynd show confirmed Covid-19 cases per week and how many we’re testing. Way more people being tested now than in spring so the first graph is not wholly representative, but as you can see the proportion of positives is on the increase in recent weeks. pic.twitter.com/hQzGhiK5Um — Emma Löfgren (@ekjlofgren) October 29, 2020 At today's press conference, it was announced that three more regions will be getting stricter local regulations: Stockholm, Västra Götaland and Östergötland. These restrictions will initially be in place up until November 19th and include the following: Avoid indoor environments such as shops, shopping centres, museums, gyms and libraries Avoid contact with people from a different household as much as possible, including by not organising or attending parties, after-work drinks, or similar social occasions The authorities present at the press conference included infectious disease physicians from all three affected regions. Businesses such as shops and employers were also urged to take measures to reduce the risk of spreading infection, including urging all employees who can do so to work from home, and reducing the numbers of visitors in shops. The Local attended the press conference digitally, and asked Anders Tegnell about the importance of working from home. Many of our readers have reported being required to go into the workplace even when they can carry out their roles from home, and during the press conference workplaces were named as a key source of new infections. "It's very important to work from home when you can and the work permits [this], and both of them need to be in place. It's very difficult to say that anyone is doing anything wrong with this," he replied. "But in the local advice we're now issuing, it's very clear that we are asking both employers and employees to do their best to make it possible to work from home as much as possible." We also asked for clarity on the new local recommendations to avoid socialising with people from a different household. The recommendations state: "If possible, avoid having physical contact with people other than those you live with. This includes, among other things, a recommendation against arranging or taking part in a party or similar social occasion." "I think the main thing here is to understand what's behind this. What we need to do is to minimise our social contacts and especially new social contacts, and that's what it's all about. You really need to avoid meeting people you don't meet normally," he said. With these additions, that means five of Sweden's 21 regions are now subject to stricter restrictions, after Skåne and Uppsala introduced them earlier. Residents of Canada, Georgia and Tunisia, who were earlier exempted from a ban to enter the EU through Sweden, are no longer automatically allowed into the country, after they were removed from the list of exemptions today. The change will come into effect on November 2nd. They and other non-EU countries are still covered by a number of other exemptions however, such as moving to Sweden for work, studies or urgent family reasons. ---------- wrbtrader
Looks like your own country is scolding you all... Liberal govts... would rather blame their citizens than their own bad policies... What I don't understand is why drones are compliant enough to accept it. "public behavior" improves... You should get some spine and tell you govt... to improve. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...ave-is-humbling-moment-after-summer-bragging/ Canada’s public health agency recently warned that the country’s case rates could soon reach 60,000 a day unless public behavior improves — which would be about double what Brazil is experiencing right now. Is this what being the world’s good example looks like?
Just so people don't start claiming that Sweden's COVID deaths are declining during the holiday break.... When will Sweden update its Covid-19 data over the Christmas holiday? Data on reported coronavirus cases and deaths in Sweden will be delayed during the Christmas and New Year holiday period. https://www.thelocal.se/20201222/wh...-its-covid-19-data-over-the-christmas-holiday Just a hint... every day recently reports over 100 new COVID deaths in Sweden... Sweden registers 6,609 new COVID-19 cases, 112 deaths on Wednesday https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...9-cases-112-deaths-on-wednesday-idUSKBN28X1LA
Just to put gwBe-lying's fear mongering into perspective.. he is lying his ass off about there being 100 deaths a day every day recently. There is no day individual day in which 100 deaths were recorded on the official data during this second wave. Sweden is currently doing a tiny bit better than Germany... and in reality they are averaging far fewer than 100 deaths whether you use Johns Hopkins data or the official data. https://ourworldindata.org/coronavi...othing=7&pickerMetric=location&pickerSort=asc offical data... https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/09f821667ce64bf7be6f9f87457ed9aa/page/page_0/ and . from his link... "Sweden registered 112 new deaths, taking the total to 8,279. The deaths registered have typically occurred over several days and sometimes weeks, and are added into the Health Agency’s tally which is updated four times per week. Sweden’s death rate per capita is several times higher than that of its Nordic neighbours but lower than several European countries that opted for lockdowns. "
Your assertions are amusing..... and as always wrong. The delay in death reporting data and death allocation has been explained to you multiple times. Data sourced from Sweden directly may be two weeks or more delayed in reporting death by date. The data from John Hopkins is 48 hours delayed from the reporting date (which is only Tues, Wed, Thurs, and Fri) for allocation to date of death typically. It's amusing to see you always pop-up like a mole that needs to be whacked with the hammer making claims "Sweden is currently doing a tiny bit better than Germany" for a date and then when we check a few days later for the same date (after the full data is posted) Sweden actually is above Germany. At what point are you going to understand the following three things: "Natural Herd Immunity" is a farce. It does not exist for COVID-19. Locking down only the vulnerable does not work (and is a complete failure) as a public health policy. Sweden failed badly in its battle with COVID due to poor policy -- even their Prime Minister has stated it directly.
geBE-lying always wrote... "Just a hint... every day recently reports over 100 new COVID deaths in Sweden..." you are truly a tremendous moron.. you do not understand math or science. go to the Johns Hopkins data... Look at the 7 day average right now... its 6.78 per 10 million. There are 10 million people in Sweden. That is 68 deaths per day...being reported right now using your Johns Hopkins data. You were therefore lying your ass off or the dumbest person posting on this website. https://ourworldindata.org/coronavi...othing=7&pickerMetric=location&pickerSort=asc
Go read the daily reports of COVID reported deaths from Sweden. Every recent day reports over an additional 100 deaths. You need to stop acting like a fool pushing natural herd immunity nonsense and continually demonstrating you don’t understand statistics and math.