A SWEDISH sex festival has sparked a Covid outbreak with 100 randy revellers testing positive after the raunchy Tantra event.
Tantra at Ängsbacka 2021 was a week “solely dedicated to couples through transformational workshops, music, dance, conscious sexuality and meetings from the heart”.
Cops are probing the X-rated event to see whether organisers put festival-goers at risk of being infected with coronavirus.
More than 100 people tested positive for Covid after attending the tantra festival at Ängsbacka, outside Molkom in Varmland county, reported Aftonbladet.
Police were called by angry residents over fears that the festival was “causing danger to others’ health”.
Officers warned organisers that, if found guilty of ‘negligence’, they could be fined or caged for up to two years.
It comes as Covid cases have spiked across Sweden’s main cities with the more contagious Delta variant.
In late July, Sweden pressed ahead with easing pandemic restrictions, but the government urged residents to socially distance.
This year’s Tantra at Ängsbacka was fully booked, with organisers saying they were “proud to keep sharing our magic throughout the pandemic”.
The event website adds: “Last year we miraculously did not have a single case of Covid-19 all summer.
“By adhering to our shared agreements, we create as much of a safe space as possible for exploring the richness of the beautiful summer months together.”
However, after 100 people tested positive for Covid, the event’s bosses apologised to local residents who were angered by Norway’s decision to lock down the border with Varmland as a result.
Livid members of the municipal council in neighbouring Årjäng wrote in a Facebook post that visitors had “f***ed around,” Aftonbladet added.
Ängsbacka’s spokesperson Malin Wik said: “We want to apologise to those who have a relationship with Ängsbacka.
“But also to our neighbours in Molkom.
“What we do here is to inspire self-awareness, it’s about discovering who you really are.
“At most, about 30 to 40 people were isolated on Ängsbacka and several people must have needed hospital care.
“You can call it a failure, the preparations we had in place have not been sufficient.”
TANTRA FOR COUPLES CANCELLED
The website said its planned tantra sessions for couples in mid-August 2021 was “cancelled” because of the outbreak.
Organisers add: “Due to having several active cases of Covid-19 on the site, Ängsbacka has with the local authorities reached the decision to cancel the planned Conscious Camping weeks for the summer.”
That event was aimed at “opening the doors to our sacred love… you can come with a spouse, a beloved or a trusted friend, same or opposite sex and you will do all exercises together.
“To dedicate this time to dive into your sacred love has the power to heal old childhood wounds, the sexual patterns created in your youth, and to bring you closer to yourself and your partner than you could ever imagine.”
Top cop Fabian Wallerstrom, investigating the Covid outbreak, said: “We must assess whether there was gross negligence.”
Norway immediately shut the border with Varmland as a result of the spike in Coronavirus cases, with organisers slammed for putting nearby residents’ health at risk.
Endangering others in this way could be treated as a crime that might result in a fine or up to two years in prison, warned tabloid Aftonbladet.
But before anyone can be caged, the investigation must establish that organisers conducted themselves in a criminally negligent way.
Mr Wallerstrom said: “The assessment we have to make is whether it has been negligent behaviour.
“In order for it to be a danger to others, we must find out if [the threshold for] gross negligence was breached.”
SWEDEN RELAXED OVER CORONA
But Ängsbacka’s management said that after speaking to cops, “according to information we received today” the police failed to find any sign of negligence from organisers.
They said it was hoped that “police and prosecutors will soon close the preliminary investigation”.
The Scandinavian country has relied mainly on voluntary measures to stem the spread of infections.
However curbs on opening hours for restaurants and limits on crowds at venues such as shopping malls have also been periodically enforced.
Just a few months ago the Sun Online reported how Sweden, a country that shunned lockdown, had the highest number of Covid cases in Europe and more patients in intensive care than during the first wave
