Sweden not ready to lift COVID restrictions, but PM says end in sight

Sweden, which has shunned lockdowns throughout the pandemic, will postpone a tentative plan to ease some COVID-19 restrictions, due to the ongoing high levels of new infections, the government said on Thursday. Sweden is experiencing a third wave of the virus and the number of patients being treated in intensive care is at the highest level since the spring of last year. 'When the strain on healthcare eases and the spread of infection drops, only then will the government be ready to start lifting restrictions,' Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told a news conference. 'But we are not there yet.'