Swedish official resigns after trip to Canary Islands causes outrage

The director general of Sweden's Civil Contingencies Agency resigned Wednesday after going against official coronavirus recommendations by traveling to Spain's Canary Islands for Christmas, reported Xinhua.

Dan Eliasson boarded the flight to Spain just days after the Civil Contingencies Agency -- a key authority in Sweden's coronavirus response -- and the Public Health Agency sent out a text message to all Swedes, urging them to adhere to tightened recommendations, including avoiding non-essential trips over the Christmas holidays.

Eliasson has earlier told local media that he has given up many trips during the pandemic but he believed this one was necessary for "family reasons" since his daughter lives on the island of Gran Canaria and he wanted to spend Christmas there with her and other family members.

Currently, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs does not advise against traveling to Spain, but Sweden's state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell has repeatedly pointed out that international travel is done at one's own risk since rules and restrictions can change with short notice in other countries, which means that one can get stuck abroad.

Home Affairs Minister Mikael Damberg and the government accepted Eliasson's resignation offer, saying they will replace him as soon as possible.

Eliasson will move into a different role in the government until his current contract expires in 2022.