wales Covid: Wales to go into 'firebreak' lockdown from Friday Wales will go into a "short, sharp" national lockdown from Friday until 9 November. People will be told to stay at home and pubs, restaurants, hotels and non-essential shops must shut. Primary schools will reopen after the half-term break, but only Years 7 and 8 in secondary schools can return at that time under new "firebreak" rules. Gatherings indoors and outdoors with people not in your household will also be banned. First Minister Mark Drakeford said the "time-limited firebreak" would be "a short, sharp, shock to turn back the clock, slow down the virus and buy us more time". Without action the NHS would not be able to cope, Mr Drakeford told a press conference. But a UK government scheme that will cover 67% of the wages of workers at firms forced to close, due to start on 1 November, will not be brought forward to cover the Welsh lockdown.

sweden Swedish virologist says her country's COVID-19 strategy has failed, but nobody will admit it Sweden allows regions to institute local lockdowns 8 months into the pandemic Last spring, as other countries went into lockdown, Swedish citizens were mostly living as usual. The government issued advice and guidance in place of rules and restrictions. School and work went ahead. Many businesses stayed open. But as of Monday, Sweden's per capita death rate from COVID-19 was the 15th highest in the world, or 13th if you exclude the tiny countries of Andorra and San Marino, according to data from Time magazine and Johns Hopkins University. Now Sweden is shifting its policy. According to the Telegraph, starting Monday, the government has empowered regional health authorities — in consultation with the federal public health agency — to instruct citizens to stay away from crowded spaces like shopping malls, museum, gyms, and concerts, and avoid taking public transport or visiting the elderly. However, there will be no legal or financial consequences for non-compliance.