STOCKHOLM, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Sweden's Public Health Agency on Tuesday raised the country's risk level of COVID-19 spread to "very high."
"Very high" is the highest level of the risk, according to the agency, which announced the decision during a press conference on Tuesday.
"Our view is that there are indications of a social infection, especially in the Stockholm and Vastra Gotaland regions," said Johan Carlson, Director General of the Public Health Agency during the press conference, adding that the next few days would be crucial to make a judgment.
"Relatives should avoid unnecessary visits to hospitals and elderly people's homes and never do so in the event of symptoms," Carlson added.
On Tuesday, 90 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Sweden, bringing the total number of the cases to 350. Among the confirmed, 207 are in the Stockholm region.
Anders Wallensten, Deputy State Epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency, told Swedish Television that it was unclear how large the spread of infection in Sweden was. "We do not know if there are a large number of hidden infection cases in society. But it's likely that there are more than we can find," he said.
