Decision on stricter restrictions for foreign travellers to be made quickly

In a proposal submitted to the government on Friday, the Public Health Agency requested that the justice ministry order all foreign travellers to Sweden, born in 2004 or earlier, to show a negative Covid-19 test that's less than 48 hours old and recommended that all travellers get tested and self-quarantine for a week.

There will now be a very fast turn-around of consultations with the police and other relevant authorities about the proposal.

"The answers must be received no later than Monday", says Minister of the Interior Mikael Damberg.

The government has been processing the authority's request for the past 24 hours. A few more days are needed before a government decision can be made, according to Mikael Damberg.

He also referred to the fact that the EU will introduce new travel restrictions at the beginning of next week.

In a statement, the Public Health Agency wrote that Swedish citizens (who cannot legally be prevented from entering Sweden) "and others travelling into the country who have for various reasons not been tested before departure should do so on the day of arrival".

"The situation is changing extremely fast around the world and different virus variants may be found in more countries than those we know of. Therefore, the Public Health Agency believes it is important to get the new restrictions in place," said director-general Johan Carlson in the statement, released on Friday afternoon.

The agency also recommends that everyone arriving in Sweden from any country in the world stay at home and avoid contacts for seven days – and get a second test on day five, in addition to the first test that they got before arriving in or departing for Sweden. The rest of their household is also urged to stay at home during this time.

Cross-border commuters and members of their household are exempt from these guidelines on the condition that they get tested at least once a week, writes the Public Health Agency.