Sweden's COVID-19 infection rate highest in Nordic region

Sweden's COVID-19 infection rate significantly exceeds that of its Nordic neighbors, with the number of new confirmed cases per capita now ten times higher than in Finland, almost four times higher than in Norway and twice as high as in Denmark, reported Xinhua.

The figures, cited by the Aftonbladet newspaper on Friday, were recorded on Nov. 10 by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

In terms of reported cases per million citizens, Sweden now ranks 25th in Europe. The country registered 5,990 new COVID-19 cases and 42 coronavirus-related deaths between Thursday and Friday alone, Sweden's Public Health Agency said.

Jan Albert, a professor in infectious disease control, told Aftonbladet that one explanation could be that the neighboring countries implemented tougher measures to control the spread of the infection at the start of the pandemic.

"Our neighbors were able to keep the spread of the infection at bay in the beginning and it is possible that it has had a lasting effect," Albert said.

The growing infection rate has led to tighter restrictions and recommendations in several Swedish regions, with the culture sector among those hit the hardest.

Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city, will shut down most of its publicly funded museums, libraries and cultural venues as of Saturday. The city has not set a reopening date, Anna Rosengren, managing director at Gothenburg's Cultural Administration, told Swedish Television on Friday.

The Swedish Film Institute has announced a second round of emergency funding for cinemas, film distributors and film festivals, according to a press release. The institute has received 233 applications for subsidies, mostly from cinema owners.

To date, Sweden has confirmed a total of 177,355 cases of COVID-19, with 6,164 deaths and 2,900 patients treated in intensive care units since the start of the pandemic. Currently, 137 COVID-19 patients are receiving intensive care in the country, according to the Swedish intensive care register.

As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, countries including Germany, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are racing to find a vaccine.

According to the website of the World Health Organization, as of Nov. 12, there were 212 COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed worldwide, and 48 of them were in clinical trials.