Sweden set a new daily record for COVID-19 cases for the third time this week, registering 23,877 cases on Jan. 5, health agency data showed on Friday, as a fourth virus wave swept the country and ramped up pressure on the healthcare system.

The mounting wave of COVID-19 cases is increasingly driven by the more contagious omicron variant and has seen hospitalisations rise rapidly in many parts of the country though deaths have remained relatively stable so far.