Face masks are now mandatory on public transport and curbs on the numbers that can gather in restaurants, shops and gyms start from next week, while people have been told to work from home.

The Scandinavian country has not gone into lockdowns or closed businesses, relying instead on people’s common sense to control infections.

However, it is seeing a rapid increase in confirmed cases that is straining the health care system, with Prime Minister Stefan Lofven describing the situation as “very serious”.

It registered a record 9,654 new daily coronavirus cases on Friday and 100 deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 7,993.