Swedish News, April 27:

No ordinary 'Valborg' this year. Fewer are granted asylum within the EU. Better statistics on deceased. Less notices of layoffs. 

  • The Umeå University campus area during Valborg, 2013. There will be no such celebrations in 2020, the ban on public gatherings of more than 50 people also applies outdoors. Photo: Umeå University/Henric Stenvall

  • No ordinary 'Valborg' this year
    The traditional Valborg (Walpurgis) celebration in Sweden is canceled this year. The ban on public gatherings of more than 50 people also applies outdoors. This was stated by Interior Minister Mikael Damberg during a press conference with the police and the County Administrative Board in Stockholm. "During the weekend, we will have a high presence and intervene when we see that the rules are not being followed," said Per Engström, responsible for the corona work within the police, regarding public gatherings. Listen to Valborgskören, Umeå sings Sköna Maj Välkommen... and read more about the tradition behind the celebration.

  • Walpurgis Night (Valborgsmässoafton) is a traditional spring festival in the eve of April 30 into May 1 in Sweden and large parts of central and northern Europe. For teen Swedes it may mean drinking lots of alcohol — for their parents it means a time of worry.

  • Fewer are granted asylum within the EU
    The number of people granted asylum in the EU last year was the lowest since before the refugee crisis. In total, just over 320,000 newly arrived received asylum in 2019, according to statistics from Eurostat. If the UK is also excluded, the figure stays below 300,000, not even half of the number accepted during the record year 2016. Most refugees were received by Germany in 2019. From being second after Germany during the refugee crisis, Sweden was in eighth place among European nations.

  • Fires going up all over Sweden as Valborg - Walpurgis Night is coming up. Photo: David Castor

  • 80 new deaths as of April 27 - a total of 2,274 dead from corona in Sweden.
    A total of 2,274 people have died of covid-19 in Sweden, according to the latest statistics from the Public Health Authority. This is an increase of 80 people over the past 24 hours. The updated figures also show that a total of 18,926 have been confirmed as infected by the corona virus in Sweden. 1,353 people are under or have received intensive care.

  • Better statistics on deceased
    Mona Heurgren, head of the National Board of Social Affairs, said at a press conference that they are now publishing statistics based on cause of death certificates. It gives a better picture of those who have died from covid-19, their age and previous underlying diseases, according to the authority, which says that 90 percent of those who have died are over 70 years. By April 23, approximately 1,700 cause of death certificates for covid-19 had been received.

  • Less notices of layoffs - increased unemployment
    As more companies have been granted support for short-term furloughs, the number of notifications of layoffs decreased. On April 20-26, approximately 2,800 people were notified of an impending layoff, according to Statistics Sweden. This is slightly less than the number of notifications during the entire month of April last year and lower than the latest weekly listings. At the same time, unemployment continues to rise. 109,000 more people are unemployed today compared to March 1. With a total of 414,500 unemployed, the Swedish unemployment rate is now 8.1%. At the same time, more than 150,000 of these have been long-term unemployed, ie. they have been missing work for more than twelve months. The Employment Service fears that the group, of 70,000, who have been unemployed between six and twelve months now also run the risk of falling into long-term unemployment.