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2021-1-9 17:56:07
Sweden passes tough new COVID laws as it abandons non-lockdown strategy
Sweden has passed a new law giving its government power to enforce lockdown measures in the country, amidst rising coronavirus infections.
A bill was passed on Friday allowing the government temporary power to shut shopping centres and public transport and to fine people who break social distancing rules.
Unlike most European countries Sweden has, up until now, adopted mainly voluntary measures to limit the spread of the virus, partly because the government lacked wide-reaching legal powers to act.
UK coronavirus cases top 3 million, deaths surpass 80,000
The UK has become the first country in western Europe to report more than 3 million coronavirus cases, according to government data published on Saturday.
Another 59,937 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic to 3,017,409 in the UK.
The country also reported more than 80,000 coronavirus-related deaths, with 1,035 new deaths added to the total in the past 24 hours. The total number of deaths within 28 days of a positive test now stands at 80,868. Deaths can occur days or even weeks before they are announced and added to the dataset.
Deaths are up 51.3% from the week before, the seven-day average published on Saturday shows, while the number of people testing positive is up 22.1%.