Swedish PM self-isolates after virus contact

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said Thursday he had gone into self-isolation after a person in his "vicinity" had met with someone who had been confirmed to have Covid-19.

Lofven said in a Facebook post that he had isolated together with his wife and would be working from home and would try to get tested as soon as possible.

"It's the only responsible thing to do in this situation," Lofven said.

The head of government also noted that the "development was going in the wrong direction quickly."

"More people are infected. More people are dying. It is a serious situation," he said.

Lofven said he had not been in direct contact with someone confirmed to have the coronavirus but someone in his "vicinity" had, and even if that person had since tested negative he had decided to self-isolate on the advice of his doctor.

After seeing a heavy death toll, over 5,000 in a country of 10.3 million inhabitants, the country registered a decrease in both cases and fatalities between July and mid-October.

However since then the number of cases has soared and deaths have also started climbing in recent days.

On Wednesday, the country reported 28 new deaths linked to Covid-19, and the total is expected to cross the 6,000 mark on Thursday.

In neighbouring Denmark, which is also facing a resurgence in cases, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is also in self-isolation after the justice minister tested positive.

An initial test proved negative, but her cabinet said Wednesday evening that she would remain in isolation pending a second test.

Greece to re-enter lockdown from Saturday
Greece will re-enter a lockdown from Saturday for three weeks to battle a second wave of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced.

"It was a difficult decision" but "measures must be taken for three weeks to overcome this second wave", he told a videoconference on Thursday.

Under the measures, Greeks can only leave their homes if they make an official request via SMS or mobile phone and then receive authorisation.

Only "essential shops" including supermarkets and pharmacies can stay open when the lockdown starts at 6 am (0400 GMT) on Saturday, Mitsotakis said.

Unlike the previous six-week lockdown that began in late March, he said kindergartens and primary schools will remain open.

Secondary school pupils will be taught remotely, something university students are already doing under recent measures.

The new lockdown comes at the daily tally of coronavirus cases continues to grow.

A total of 2,646 new infections and 18 deaths were recorded on Wednesday, up sharply from last week.

The virus has killed 673 people in Greece among almost 47,000 infected.

But it is the number of people in intensive care that worries authorities most of all.

The number of people on hospitalised on ventilators has more than doubled in a month, from 82 on October 4 to 169 on Wednesday.

"Why take this decision now?", said the prime minister. "In the last five days we have seen a dangerous increase in the number of dead" and the number of people in intensive care in hospital.