Key points from Sweden’s plan to start lifting Covid-19 restrictions

The big news from Thursday was the government’s announcement of a five-step plan for lifting the country’s coronavirus restrictions. We’ve covered it in detail, but the main things to know are:

• From June 1st, bars and restaurants will be able to stay open until 10.30pm; universities will be allowed to start on-campus teaching; and the maximum people allowed at events will be increased slightly depending on the event (up to 50 at seated indoor events; 100 at non-seated outdoor events; 150 at outdoor races and sports competitions; up to 500 at seated outdoor events).
• Further relaxations are set to follow, with preliminary dates of July 1st, mid-July, and September. The exact timings will depend on the pandemic situation.
• The government did not announce any update on international travel, but information on this is expected to come shortly.

Swedish vocabulary: event – evenemang

Critical healthcare has been postponed due to the pandemic

During the pandemic, healthcare has been postponed even in cases where a delay could have serious consequences for patients, an investigation by Swedish Radio Ekot shows.

Ekot asked 62 hospitals that provide intensive care and received answers from 51. Of the respondents, 15 say that due to the pandemic, care has been postponed that should really have been prioritized.

The same number of hospitals said that coronavirus care currently has a greater impact on other care than at earlier times during the pandemic, though other respondents say the impact is now less or as great as before.

“We had a situation during November, December, last year, where it became very strained and in this case it led to us having to cut back on cancer surgery. We also had some vascular surgery that was advanced and difficult to get in time,” Martin Takac, healthcare director for Surgical Care in Jönköping, told the radio.

Swedish vocabulary: to postpone – skjuta upp

Weather forecast: Weekend sun

It’s been a dreary week, especially in central Sweden, but most of the country can expect sunshine this weekend according to the SMHI forecast.

On Saturday, 15-20C temperatures are expected across large parts of Sweden, and on Sunday the mercury could rise a few degrees above 20C.

“At the start of next week, it looks like it will continue to be warmer with a lot of sun, except from northernmost Sweden where it looks like there will be a bit more cloud,” SMHI meteorologist Moa Hallberg told the TT newswire.

Swedish vocabulary: sunshine – solsken