Sweden, whose soft-touch Covid-19 approach sparked world-wide attention, has reported another surge in cases that is straining hospitals and stretching testing to the limit.
The country has registered 15,779 new coronavirus cases since its previous update on Friday, official statistics show.
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 6,057 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.
"Call it a second wave or not, we are in the midst of a spread and we all need to help curb it," public health official Sara Byfors told a news conference. "Like the other curves, deaths are also heading higher, though not as steeply yet."
Sweden tightened recommendations for three more regions on Tuesday, meaning inhabitants in 13 out of 21 regions now are advised to work from home, avoid public transport and limit social interaction outside the family as much as possible.
The Skane region on Tuesday reported 1,410 new cases in the last 24 hours, roughly 10 per cent of the total number of cases since the pandemic began. The region also asked private healthcare providers for personnel reinforcements as hospital admissions had increased.
Several regions are also struggling to keep up with demand for testing even as Sweden hit a record last week, forcing authorities in the biggest cities and hard-hit areas such as Ostergotland to restrict bookings amid a scramble to raise capacity.
Norway border
Meanwhile, Norway has recalled military forces to patrol its land border with Sweden.
Norway tightened coronavirus rules last week and extended border controls for another six months. As a result the Home Guard said it would assist police controlling the vast border, as it did during the spring and summer.
"Civilian authorities do not have sufficient resources to enforce the new measures and have asked the Armed Forces for assistance," the Home Guard – a rapid mobilisation force in the military focused on local defence and civil support – said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Swedish-Norwegian border is Europe's longest and around 80,000 Swedes live and work in Norway.
Sweden's Covid-19 deaths per capita are more than 10 times higher than in Norway, which opted for a lockdown in the spring.
