Sweden readies new measures as COVID-19 cases accelerate

Sweden is preparing new measures to try to curb a resurgence in COVID-19 cases as the coronavirus strain first detected in Britain spreads rapidly, the architect of Sweden’s pandemic strategy said on Tuesday. Sweden has avoided lockdowns throughout the pandemic. But health statistics agency figures on Tuesday showed 10,933 new coronavirus cases had been registered since Friday, a rise from 9,458 in the corresponding period the previous week. “The British variant is increasing very fast,” Chief Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell told a news conference. “This variant will with fairly high probability be the dominant one within a few weeks or a month.”