Sweden's health authority has said the spread of Covid-19 continues to accelerate with infection rates no longer considered low, blaming increased travel abroad and packed dance floors in busy night club venues in Stockholm for the surge, according to Reuters.

There were 3,451 new cases of Covid-19 in Sweden last week, a 30 per cent increase compared to the week before, the authority said, adding that at 59 cases per 100,000 people the spread of the infection was no longer at a low level.

"We see a lot of cases with people who have been infected abroad in popular travel destinations in Europe," state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said in a statement, adding that 17pc of new cases were linked to such tourism.

"We have also received reports of congestion at several holiday resorts in Sweden, including on Gotland, but also at dance venues in, for example, Stockholm," Tegnell said.