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Today in Sweden: A round-up of the latest news on Wednesday

Find out what's going on in Sweden today with The Local's short round-up of the news in less than five minutes.

Published: 17 March 2021 09:00 CET
Today in Sweden: A round-up of the latest news on Wednesday
Border checks on the Öresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Public Health Agency proposes lifting entry ban for Denmark and Norway

The Public Health Agency has requested that the government lift Sweden’s entry ban for travellers from Denmark and Norway, so that the same rules would apply to them as to other Nordic and EU countries when the ban expires on March 31st, reports Swedish public radio.

The rules were introduced to curb the spread of the coronavirus variant first discovered in the UK, after a number of cases were found in Denmark and Norway.

You can read more about this request HERE (in English).

Swedish vocabulary: entry ban – inreseförbud

Stockholm inpatients told to wear face masks

Inpatients and anyone accompanying them are now recommended to wear face masks in the Stockholm region, due to the spread of Covid-19. Patients should wear face masks outside of their room, and in multipatient rooms when it is not possible to keep a two-metre distance, said regional authorities in their guidelines.

Face masks are already recommended for outpatients in the region.

Children under the age of 16 and people who for some reason can’t wear a face mask are exempt.

Swedish vocabulary: inpatient care – slutenvård

I got the AstraZeneca jab – what should I do?

The Swedish Public Health Agency has issued guidelines for people who have got vaccinated with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab in the past two weeks. If you get the following symptoms, you should call healthcare helpline 1177 (or 112 in case of emergency):

  • bruises and/or punctate hemorrhages on the skin or mucosa
  • nose bleeds that are hard to stop
  • swelling, redness or pronounced tenderness to your leg or arm

If you get only minor side effects, you don’t have to do anything. Temporary symptoms such as fever, tiredness or pain where you got the jab are common side effects, and a sign that your immune system has been activated, writes the Public Health Agency.

Sweden on Tuesday suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as a “precautionary measure” pending an investigation by the European Medicines Agency, which together with the World Health Organisation recommend countries to keep using the vaccine for now.

Swedish vocabulary: side effect – biverkning

Record number of drowning deaths after ice melts

More people drowned in Sweden in February than any other month in the new millennium, according to the Swedish Life Saving Association.

Eleven people died, out of whom ten went through the ice and one man fell off a boat. In the Småland region, four people died in the same accident after falling through weak early-spring ice.

The 11 people were all men, aged between 60 and 80.

Swedish vocabulary: accident – olycka

Nearly 10,000 reports of Covid-related incidents at Swedish workplaces reported so far in 2021

Sweden’s Work Environment Authority plans to carry out workplace inspections to ensure coronavirus measures are being followed, after a “dramatic rise” in reported incidents.

“We see that it is workplaces, alongside the home, that are now the driving factor behind the spread of infection,” said Labour Markets Minister Eva Nordmark.

She reiterated that all employers have the responsibility not only to ensure that their staff work from home if it is possible, but also to make the workplace safe for any employees who cannot work from home, such as essential workers in health and elderly care, transport workers and hospitality workers.

Swedish vocabulary: workplace – arbetsplats

Zlatan Ibrahimovic to make international comeback

On the off chance that you missed it when it was announced yesterday: Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will make a comeback for the country’s national team at the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, coach Janne Andersson has confirmed.

Ibrahimovic, who has 116 caps and 62 goals, has not worn the Swedish jersey since Euro 2016, where he was captain but failed to score as Sweden finished bottom of their group.

But last autumn, the striker said he “missed” wearing the yellow jersey. The Swedish Football Federation said the player then had a “good and fruitful” meeting with Andersson, who flew down to Italy to speak with the 39-year-old in person.

Swedish vocabulary: national team – landslag

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TODAY IN SWEDEN

Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Right bloc strikes government deal, Sweden Democrat to lead Sweden in OSCE, Russia's Nord Stream 'bewilderment', and inflation nears 10 percent: find out what's going on in Sweden with The Local's roundup.

Published: 14 October 2022 08:06 CEST
Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Moderate leader strikes government coalition deal

Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson has completed his deal with the Sweden Democrat, Christian Democrat and Liberal parties, and will announce it at 10am on Friday, state broadcaster SVT has reported.

According to a story published at close to 11pm on Thursday night, the four parties will hold a press conference at 10am where they will lay out the details on the new government’s plans to reform Sweden over the next four years.

The agreement contains both policy details and details of which parties will be part of the coalition and how they will work together.

After the press conference, at 11am, Kristersson will visit the parliament’s Speaker Andreas Norlén to inform him that the deal is complete, after which the Speaker will call a parliamentary vote on Kristersson as prime minister, probably for Monday.

Swedish vocab: en överenskommelse – an agreement 

Far-right politician appointed to lead Sweden in OSCE

One of the leading politicians in the far-right Sweden Democrats has been appointed to lead Sweden in the OSCE, a body that monitors elections and seeks to bolster security in Europe.

Björn Söder, one of the so-called ‘gang of four’ who transformed the Sweden Democrats, has been appointed chair of the Swedish delegation of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

The OSCE was founded in Helsinki in 1975 as a forum for discussion between the Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc and gained its current name in 1995.

Söder has faced criticism for saying in 2018 that in his opinion members of Sweden’s Sami and Jewish minorities were not Swedish. “They are recognised as minorities because they are not Swedish,” he argued, stressing that ethnicity and citizenship were two different concepts.

Many had expected the Sweden Democrats to put Söder forward as deputy speaker of the parliament, a position he held between 2014 and 2018, but the party instead nominated his less controversial colleague Julia Kronlid.

Swedish vocab: valobservatör – election monitor

Russia aggrieved at Germany, Denmark and Sweden over Nord Stream probe

Russia’s foreign ministry said Thursday it had summoned envoys of Germany, Denmark and Sweden to express “bewilderment” over Moscow’s exclusion from an investigation into leaks on the Nord Stream pipelines.

Multiple leaks were discovered on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines connecting Russia to Germany, further raising political tensions already sky high since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February. All four leaks were located near Danish island Bornholm.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the leaks were an act of “international terrorism” that would benefit the United States, Poland and Ukraine.

Both Moscow and Washington have denied responsibility for the leaks, which were discovered in late September. Germany, Sweden and Denmark have formed a joint investigation unit to probe the apparent sabotage.

“The heads of the diplomatic missions of Germany, Denmark and Sweden in Moscow have been summoned to the Russian foreign ministry in recent days,” the Russian ministry said in a statement.

Swedish vocab: att kalla upp diplomater – so summon diplomats

More rate hikes on cards as Swedish inflation nears 10 percent

Inflation in Sweden hit a higher than expected 9.7 percent in September, making it likely that the country’s central bank will have to hike interest rates even more rapidly.

In a press release issued on Thursday morning, Statistics Sweden blamed “higher electricity prices and higher prices for groceries and alcohol-free drinks” for driving price increases over the month.

The rise was higher than market expectations of about 9.3 percent, judging by a survey carried out by Bloomberg, a financial news service.

The goods that saw the highest price increases were bread and other products made from grain, and coffee, the agency wrote. 

“This is high, well above the Riksbank’s target. That indicates we will see continued big [rate] hikes,” Annika Winsth, chief economist at Nordea, told the TT newswire. 

She said that it was likely now that the 50 point rate rise planned for November would be increased to 75 points. 

“Both households and companies need to be prepared for rates continuing to rise,” she said. 

Swedish vocab: att rusa – to soar (literally “rush”) 

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