STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden will scrap recommendations against travel to four European countries from Thursday, including neighbours Norway and Denmark, amid signs that coronavirus infections are falling.
Sweden decided to forego a hard lockdown and kept most schools and businesses open throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, a divisive strategy that has set it apart from most of Europe.
The government said it would stop advising against non-necessary travel to Norway, Denmark, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
It added that current travel restrictions for other countries within the European Union and the United Kingdom would remain until Aug. 12.
Daily COVID-19 death rates and the number of people treated at intensive care have been slowing gradually since April in Sweden.
The country’s death toll of 5,730, when compared to population size, has far outstripped those of its Nordic neighbours, although it remains lower than some European countries that locked down, such as Britain and Spain.
(Reporting by Helena Soderpalm; Editing by Nick Macfie)
