A Swedish official reportedly defended his decision to take a Christmas vacation to the Canary Islands after advising Swedish citizens against traveling.
Dan Eliasson, head of the Civil Contingencies Agency, was photographed sitting in the Las Palmas airport on the island of Gran Canaria, after having warned Swedes not to travel in early December, BBC reported. (RELATED: King Of Sweden Says Refusal To Lockdown Has ‘Failed,’ Citizens Are Suffering)
Eliasson told a Swedish newspaper that he had “given up a lot of trips during this pandemic,” and that he was visiting his daughter who lives in the Canaries, according to BBC.
“I celebrated Christmas with her and my family,” Eliasson explained to Swedish newspaper Expressen.
While other countries locked down in order to slow the spread of coronavirus, Sweden never announced a full nationwide lockdown, but the country imposed a partial lockdown in November and restricted bars and restaurants from serving alcohol past 10 p.m.
In December, the King of Sweden addressed Swedes during his Christmas address and told them that the nation’s approach toward the coronavirus had failed. Prior to this address, Swedes were sent text messages advising them to limit their Christmas gatherings.
To date, Sweden has roughly 437,379 confirmed cases of coronavirus, along with 8,727 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.