December 18, Swedish Prime Minister Levin spoke at a press conference in Stockholm. Xinhua News Agency/American League
Swedish Prime Minister Levin announced a number of measures on the 18th to prevent the further deterioration of the coronavirus epidemic. On the same day, the Swedish Public Health Service put forward a mask for the first time on the prevention and control of the epidemic.
Levin said at a press conference on the same day that he hoped that the Swedish people would be aware of the seriousness of the current epidemic. If the new measures are not effectively implemented, the government will close more public places.
Karlsson, director of the Swedish Public Health Agency, gave a detailed introduction to the new measures, including the implementation of distance classes in high school education, restrictions on people in large shopping places such as shopping malls and the cancellation of price reduction promotions during Christmas and New Year, and the ban on alcohol sales in restaurants after 8 p.m., etc., which will be implemented from the 24th.
The Public Health Bureau also made its first suggestion to wear masks since the outbreak began this year, requiring passengers on public transportation to wear masks “high crowds and social distancing” from January 7 next year.
According to the COVID-19 data released by the Swedish Public Health Agency on the 18th, the country has 10,335 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, with a total of 367,120 confirmed cases; 103 new deaths, with a total of 8,011 deaths.
Sweden currently ranks first among the five Nordic countries in terms of confirmed cases and deaths of COVID-19. The Swedish Public Health Service has been not recommending people to wear masks on the grounds that there is no scientific basis.
With the second wave of the epidemic and the rapid increase in confirmed cases, the Swedish government has established the “Committee of Inquiry on Coronavirus Affairs”, which said in a report released recently that “Sweden has failed to protect the elderly well in the face of the coronavirus epidemic, resulting in up to 90% of deaths being elderly people.”
In a televised speech on the 17th, King Karl XVI Gustav of Sweden said that Sweden “failed to fight against the coronavirus epidemic”.
