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Sweden scraps all Covid border restrictions for EU travellers

From February 9th it is possible to travel to Sweden from the rest of the EU without showing a Covid vaccine pass or negative test.

Sweden scraps all Covid border restrictions for EU travellers
A Swedish border officer checking the Covid documents of arrivals from Denmark last year. Photo: Anders Bjurö/TT

The Swedish government at an extraordinary meeting on Monday decided to remove all entry restrictions from the Nordic countries and other EU/EEA countries on February 9th, the same day it also scrapped nearly all of its domestic Covid rules and recommendations.

“The decision follows an assessment by the Public Health Agency of Sweden that the entry restrictions are no longer a proportionate infection control measure,” read a government statement.

“The lifting of the entry restrictions is a great relief for many travellers, not least for those living and working in the Nordic border regions. Today’s decision also reduces the burden on the Swedish Police Authority, which no longer needs to set aside staff to check Covid-19 certificates at the border,” it added.

It said the current entry restrictions for non-EU/EEA countries would however remain in place for now, “in accordance with EU recommendations regarding entry from third countries”.

This means that people travelling to Sweden from these countries will still not be able enter the country directly unless they are covered by one of a series of exemptions from the entry ban.

Such an exemption could be for example living in a so-called “exempt country”, having a valid vaccine pass issued by an “approved country”, or being a resident of Sweden.

The entry ban on non-EU/EEA arrivals is currently in force until March 31st.

A Health Ministry spokesperson told The Local last week that the entry restrictions would first be removed for the Nordic countries (although as of Monday’s decision it has been extended to the rest of the EU and EEA) as a “first step” and that more information would come.

“The government is continuously reviewing the entry restrictions introduced due to the pandemic. It is important that the restrictions do not go beyond what is justified,” the spokesperson said at the time.

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TRAVEL NEWS

Which Swedish roads are set to be busiest around Midsummer?

What are the peak traffic hours around Midsummer and is there anyway you can beat the queues? Here's The Local's guide to one of Sweden's busiest weekends of the year.

Which Swedish roads are set to be busiest around Midsummer?

What are the peak traffic hours?

Between noon and 6pm on Thursday, 9am-2pm on Friday and 2-6pm on Sunday.

Which roads are expected to be the worst?

The big motorways are expected to be busy. That’s for example the E4 motorway, which runs from Helsingborg to Stockholm and then all the way up the northeast coast.

Other typical bottlenecks are the E6 between Malmö and Strömstad via Gothenburg and the E22 between Norrköping and Kalmar, as well as the E14 between Sundsvall and Åre.

Roads leading to popular Midsummer destinations, such as Lake Siljan (or Dalarna in general), the roads around Lake Mälaren, and roads leading towards the archipelagos in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Bohuslän are also likely to be packed with holidayers.

See the map at the bottom of the article.

What can I do to avoid the queues?

The best tip is to avoid travelling during peak hours, but other than that, there’s not much, to be honest.

You could stay home or take public transport (which will probably also be busy), but neither is likely to be a realistic option for you this late in the game. If everyone on the road drives responsibly and respectfully, that’s the best way to avoid total gridlock.

If you’re considering alternative routes to avoid the motorway queues, think twice. Of course accidents could happen anywhere, but the major dual carriageways are generally safer than minor roads where you risk head-on collisions with overtaking drivers.

If there is an accident and you get stuck in a queue as a result, the motorways – at least one lane – are also likely to reopen to traffic faster than some of the smaller roads.

So the best thing is to allow extra time for travel, stick to the speed limit and put up with the queues. If that means driving slower than the speed limit, so be it. Don’t overtake for the sake of it. Bring good music and snacks in the car to make the journey part of the holiday.

It goes without saying that you shouldn’t drive while under the influence of alcohol (the drink-drive limit in Sweden is blood alcohol content of 0.02 percent or 0.10 milligrams per litre) and remember that you may still be over the limit the morning after drinking.

Tiredness is also a cause of dangerous driving, so make sure you get enough sleep and take plenty of breaks along the way. This is always important, but even more so on the way home on Sunday after a weekend of late nights and Midsummer revelry.

The map below, issued by the Swedish Traffic Administration, shows the roads that are expected to get the most traffic during Midsummer.

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