Sweden registers 15,779 new COVID-19 cases since Friday amid surge

Sweden, whose soft-touch virus approach has sparked world-wide attention, has registered new 15,779 coronavirus cases since its previous update on Friday, Health Agency statistics showed on Tuesday. Cases in the Nordic country, which does not publish updated COVID-19 data over the weekend and Mondays, have risen sharply, repeatedly hitting daily records over the last two weeks. Sweden registered 35 new deaths, taking the total to 15,779 during the pandemic.

Sweden, whose soft-touch virus approach has sparked world-wide attention, has registered new 15,779 coronavirus cases since its previous update on Friday, Health Agency statistics showed on Tuesday. The number compares with 10,177 cases for the corresponding period last week. Cases in the Nordic country, which does not publish updated COVID-19 data over the weekend and Mondays, have risen sharply, repeatedly hitting daily records over the last two weeks.

Sweden registered 35 new deaths, taking the total to 15,779 during the pandemic. Sweden's death rate per capita is several times higher than Nordic neighbours but lower than some larger European countries, such as Spain and Britain.