Sweden stops demand for negative COVID test to enter country

Travelers to Sweden will no longer be required to show a negative COVID test before entering the country, the government said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Sweden introduced rules for a recent negative COVID test on Dec. 28 last year in a bid to slow the spread of the more contagious Omicron variant. Since then, Sweden has repeatedly set new daily case records with Omicron now the totally dominant variant, the report said.

“Travelers are no longer considered to pose a particular risk of affecting the spread of Omicron in Sweden,” the government said in a statement.

Sweden has recorded more than 20,000 new daily cases over the past few days, roughly double the previous record from earlier waves. The number of cases has put a strain on healthcare services but not to the same extent as before the vaccine rollout, the report said.