Stockholm: Sweden has been an outlier in the coronavirus pandemic: It eschewed lockdowns and kept restaurants, bars, schools, movie theatres and gyms mostly open. And while death rates were high compared to its Nordic neighbours, they were comparable to those of larger European countries.
Now, a second wave has brought a new surge in infections and Stockholm’s emergency services are overrun, forcing the authorities to recalibrate their approach. They imposed new restrictions at the end of November that bring the country’s response somewhat more in line with the rest of Europe. They include drastic cutbacks on the size of public gatherings and some school closures.