Following a call from the EU Council of Ministers and the EU Commission, the government decided to stop travel to Sweden from Thursday.

- The decision is valid from March 19 and 30 days ahead. This is primarily about the arrival of flights, and entrance checks are already being done, Mikael Damberg said at the press conference.

Swedes should be able to come home

Swedish citizens and persons residing in Sweden should still have the right to return home. The ban also does not apply to journeys from other EU countries.

The decision was made after the EU leaders held a summit over the video link where the proposal to impose a temporary entry ban in the Union was discussed.

"Our philosophy is very simple: limit unnecessary travel as much as possible, but at the same time keep freight transport to avoid shortages," said EU Permanent Council President Charles Michel ahead of the meeting, according to TT.