Sweden: still too many infections, anti-Covid restrictions stay in place. No more than 8 people at Mass

Sweden will not relax its restrictions on public gatherings until 1st June. It was announced by the Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, at a press conference. It ensues that, for Mass, the maximum limit of 8 people per celebration will stay in place too. This was confirmed by the website of the diocese of Stockholm earlier today. “The reason why measures will not be relaxed earlier is that the spread of the infection in Sweden is still at too high a level, and the burden on public healthcare is too high”, a notice explains. “The government calls all citizens to get vaccinated as soon as they can, to keep adhering to the restrictions and to keep updated on any stricter local restriction”. Up to 100 people can gather outdoors. The government also extended the support measures for workers, measures for working from home. Out of a population of 10 million, over 1 million have caught Covid since the outbreak of the pandemic, 14,200 people have died, 3.9 million doses of vaccine have been administered, 7,253 people are currently in intensive care units. The waiting time for surgery and specialist tests exceeded 90 days, while digital exams by primary care physicians have increased by 278% in the last year (figures from the Public Health Agency of Sweden).
Valentina Bombelli