Sweden to resume on-site education despite COVID-19 variant concerns

Sweden is to end distance schooling for children after the summer holidays, amid fears that the Delta variant of COVID-19 is beginning to tighten its grip on the country, reported Xinhua.

"The need to conduct distance education is estimated to be low during autumn ... On-site education, as a general rule, should be conducted in all schools from the start of the semester," Minister for Education Anna Ekstrom told a press briefing on Tuesday.

The announcement came following a downward trend in new infections and new admissions to intensive care units.

On Tuesday, 98 COVID-19 patients required intensive care across the country, the lowest number since the beginning of November, Public Health Agency's statistics showed.

"As the spread of infection decreases, the burden on healthcare decreases, and the vaccination rate increases, we can return to a more normal life," she said.

Legislation has been tweaked to enable individual schools to once again introduce distance education should the pandemic situation worsen, according to Ekstrom.

However, there are still fears that the Delta variant of the virus, which was first discovered in India, is on the increase.

"The risk is not over ... Local outbreaks can occur and unvaccinated children and adolescents can be infected with COVID-19. We may need to adapt the measures again," said Britta Bjorkholm, a senior official at the Public Health Agency in the press briefing.