SHARE
COPY LINK

HEALTH

COVID UPDATE: Sweden bans travel from Norway

The Swedish government announced a travel ban on entry from Norway on Sunday, to reduce the risk of the new variant of coronavirus spreading.

COVID UPDATE: Sweden bans travel from Norway
A deserted Oslo, Norway. Photo: Terje Pedersen/NTB

“The ban applies from midnight until February 14th and can be extended if necessary,” Interior Minister Mikael Damberg said at a digital press conference on Sunday afternoon.

The entry ban from the United Kingdom and Denmark is also extended until February 14th.

At the same time, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is reintroducing the advice against unnecessary travel to Norway. The decision is valid until further notice.

In December, Sweden announced a ban on travel into Sweden from both the UK and Denmark due to the new variant, that was due to initially last a month.

Exceptions from the government's decision apply to those who work in Sweden or have urgent family needs, as well as to freight traffic.

On Saturday January 23rd, the Norwegian government introduced a series of very strict restrictions in Oslo and nine more municipalities due to an outbreak of a more contagious coronavirus variant, first identified in Britain.

This variant already exists in Sweden. So far, about 50 cases have been confirmed, the vast majority of them are linked to people who have been abroad, according to the Swedish Public Health Agency.

The government's decision on the Norway travel ban follows a recommendation from the Swedish Public Health Agency.

“It is an exceptional decision, not least considering the long land border between the countries,” Interior Minister Damberg said.

He added it was now important to closely follow the development of how the mutated virus has spread in Norway and pointed out the capacity to detect virus mutations had been built up in Sweden but needed to be stepped up further:

“We have not received any reports of any major clusters in Sweden,” he said.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

HEALTH

Are Danes cutting back on cigarettes and alcohol?

Danish stores sold a significantly lower quantity of alcohol and cigarettes over the counter last year, new data from Statistics Denmark show.

Are Danes cutting back on cigarettes and alcohol?

Some 3,852 cigarettes were sold year, which amounts to 804 per person over the age of 18. But that compares to a figures of 854 per person on 2022.

Cigarette sales in Denmark have been declining since 2018.

Sales of sprits, beer and wine fell by 7.8 percent, 5.3 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.

Danish business sold the equivalent of 44.4 million litres of pure alcohol, which works out at 11.9 units per week on average for each person over the age of 18.

Although that is a lower value than in 2022, it still exceeds the amount recommended by the Danish Health Authority (Sundhedsstyrelsen).

The Health Authority recommends that adults over 18 drink no more than 10 units per week and no more than four in a single day.

READ ALSO: Should Denmark raise the minimum age for buying alcohol?

“The numbers are still too high and it’s an average that could have a skewed distribution,” University of Southern Denmark professor, Janne Tholstrup, said in relation to the alcohol sales figures. Tholstrup has published research on Denmark’s alcohol culture.

That is in spite of a 30-year-trend of falling alcohol consumption, according to the professor.

“The majority of Danes stay under the recommended 10 unite per week. That means there is a large group with a persistently excessive consumption of alcohol,” she said.

The Statistics Denmark figures also show that sales of loose tobacco – such as the type used in roll-up cigarettes and pipes – also fell last year. Some 58 tonnes less were sold compared to 2022.

SHOW COMMENTS