Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven announced restrictions on alcohol sales in bars and restaurants Wednesday, a move meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“All the indicators point in the wrong direction,” Lofven said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Bars, restaurants, and nightclubs will be forced to stop selling alcohol after 10 p.m., which authorities hope will minimize gatherings and encourage social distancing, Reuters reported Wednesday.
Sweden, which has drawn worldwide interest for its relatively hands-off approach to the pandemic, has confirmed nearly 167,000 cases and more than 6,000 deaths due to COVID-19, far more than its Scandinavian neighbors. While the total case count in Sweden is dwarfed by other countries reporting devastating outbreaks, such as France, Spain, and the United States, its per-capita rate is just as high. In fact, Sweden has confirmed more cases per capita than the U.S., according to New York Times data, with 38.9 cases per 100,000 people in Sweden compared to 37.2 per 100,000 Americans.
Faced with the threat of a winter surge, the government has recommended that several regions, including Sweden’s biggest cities, Stockholm and Gothenburg, be placed under temporary lockdown. Government officials have not, however, mandated that cities shut down.
“The infection is spreading quickly, and just in the last week, the number of people with the coronavirus who are being treated in intensive care more than doubled,” Lofven said.
Lofven said the planned ban on late-night alcohol sales would be in place from Nov. 20 through February 2021.
