After the British mutation of the coronavirus spread in a municipality near Oslo, Sweden has decided on a travel ban from Norway.
Minister of the Interior Mikael Damberg says in SVT's Morgonstudion that the decision was made to reduce the risk of spreading the mutated virus variant, but also to prevent the risk of increased congestion in Swedish stores if the new severe closures in the Oslo area make residents apply across the border to make purchases.
Does not preclude shutdown
In Sweden, about 55 cases of the British mutation have been discovered, most of which are linked to travelers from the United Kingdom.
But if Sweden were to discover clusters with mutated cases that cannot be explained, Minister of the Interior Mikael Damberg does not rule out that Sweden will introduce new tough restrictions, like Norway.
- If we see it, both infection control doctors and the public health authority must be able to act hard to limit this, says Damberg.
He continues:
- The simple variants are that you can close down a workplace or a school, there are much tougher rules that you should not travel.
You can isolate a municipality if it is just one municipality that has been affected.
There are several levels of action that can be taken.
Entrants are encouraged to isolate
According to the Swedish Public Health Agency's new recommendations, visitors to Sweden who have resided in Norway for the past 14 days are encouraged to stay at home for at least seven days and avoid contact with others.
Entrants are also encouraged to test themselves as soon as possible after arrival in Sweden with a follow-up test after five days.
The entry ban to Sweden came into force at midnight on Monday night and applies until 14 February.