STOCKHOLM, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The government of Sweden has decided to tighten the coronavirus restrictions to ward off a looming third COVID-19 wave.
Under the new rules announced on Wednesday and effective March 1, all restaurants, cafes and bars in the country will have to close by 8:30 p.m. Currently, hospitality establishments must stop serving alcohol at 8 p.m. Restaurants offering takeaway services are exempt from the new restrictions.
"The situation in Sweden is serious," Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said when the restrictions were announced in a joint press conference with the Public Health Agency of Sweden. "We have a high spread of infection and it is increasing. Also, the mutated virus variants make the situation even more worrying. There is a great risk of a third wave."
"What happens next is not dictated by fate, it depends on your and my actions," he said.
The number of people allowed in shops, malls and gyms will also be lowered. Under the current rules, the establishments must provide at least ten square meters for each customer. Furthermore, stores should encourage customers to shop alone.
No sports competitions besides those on an elite level are allowed under the new restrictions. At present, matches and competitions are allowed for children born in 2005 or later. This rule had, however, been abused, said Johan Carlsson, director general of the Public Health Agency.
"Competitive sports have become widespread and children will no more be allowed to play matches," Carlsson said.
By Wednesday, 647,470 COVID-19 cases and 12,793 deaths had been confirmed in Sweden. The rate of infection has also started to increase in several regions of the country.
As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in some countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.
Meanwhile, 255 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 73 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Tuesday. Enditem
