Sweden set a daily record for new coronavirus cases, registering 17,320 infections on Jan 4, health agency data showed, with the more infectious Omicron variant dominating.

The number of new cases in Sweden has surged since November and in December the government tightened restrictions on public gatherings and urged all those who can, to work from home in an effort to minimise the spread of the virus, Reuters reports.

“During the last few weeks we have seen a shift and now the Omicron variant is dominating in terms of new infections in Sweden,” Britta Bjorkholm at the Public Health Agency told a news conference.