Sweden, Initially Praised for Lack of Lockdown, Now Considering Restrictions As Coronavirus Cases Rise
BY EMILY CZACHOR ON 9/23/20 AT 11:04 AM EDT
New rules for food and drink venues in Sweden were introduced back in July, which requires restaurants, bars and cafes to maintain a distance of one meter (3.3 feet) between groups of patrons.
"The new part [of the existing restriction] is that we have specified the one-meter distance," the chief legal officer of Sweden's public health agency, Bitte Bråstad, said at the time.
Public gatherings in Sweden are currently limited to 50 people. "The limit for 50 participants remains as a general rule, but there will be exceptions," Sweden's Minister for Home Affairs, Mikael Damberg, said last month.
The exceptions will apply to restaurants from October 8. The government is also planning to allow a maximum of 500 people at events, including soccer games, concerts and theater shows where viewers can be seated at least a meter apart, but a decision on the measure has not been formally made, Damberg told reporters last month.
Confirmed cases in Sweden have surpassed 96,100, with 5,883 deaths, as of Tuesday, according to the latest report by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).