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Sweden tightens Covid-19 testing guidelines for international arrivals

The Local
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Sweden tightens Covid-19 testing guidelines for international arrivals
File photo of a Covid-19 testing station at Stockholm's Arlanda Airport. Photo: Claudio Bresciani/TT

Everyone who has visited a non-Nordic country in the last week before travelling to Sweden is urged to get tested for Covid-19 as soon as possible after arriving.

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Sweden on November 30th stepped up its Covid-19 testing recommendations for travellers following spread of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus in several countries.

Now, all travellers who have been to a country other than Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland in the week before travelling to Sweden are recommended to get a Covid-19 test as soon as possible after arriving, preferably the same day, if possible.

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These guidelines apply to both vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers, as well as those who have had Covid-19 in the last six months, and those who provided evidence of a negative test when entering Sweden. They do not apply to children aged under six.

In addition to this, everyone arriving in Sweden from South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia or Eswatini is urged to get a Covid-19 test on the day of arrival or as soon as possible, as well as a second test after five days.

Furthermore, all travellers from those countries should stay home for seven days upon arrival in Sweden, irrespective of vaccination status, whether they are experiencing symptoms or not. These recommendations also apply to children, regardless of age.

As before, everyone who gets symptoms of Covid-19 should get tested, regardless of whether or not they've been abroad.

By 6pm on Tuesday, the Omicron variant had been confirmed in three people in Sweden. The variant was first discovered by South Africa on November 9th, and may be more contagious than other variants, although there are still a lot of unknowns.

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