Swedish News, May 5:

Stockholm is starting to see improvement with the pandemic. 90 new deaths in Sweden - 2,769 total deaths. Low confidence in elderly care. The number of asylum seekers halved. Unemployment continues to go up in Sweden. Lövin suggests climate requirements on airlines 

  • No there probably won't be a big public celebration on Sweden's National Day, June 6 this year. An earlier National Day celebration in Stockholm. Photo: Ola Ericson

  • Stockholm is starting to see improvement
    The Stockholm region is beginning to see an improvement, according to Stockholm's Director of Health, Björn Eriksson. He emphasizes that the pandemic is still at a critical level and that health care facilities are strained. But the number of patients in need of medical care and the number of deceased per week is declining. Fewer now travel by commuter train, subway and buses in Stockholm after calls to travel only if you have to. Traffic is at 35-40% of normal levels.

  • I truly believe I will forever consider Stockholm my second home.” - Ceilidh Meagher, MSc finance alum from the U.S.

  • 90 new deaths in Sweden - 2,769 total deaths
    Another 90 deaths from corona were registered in Sweden Monday. The total death toll in the country is now 2,769. 1,572 receive or have received intensive care due to corona in Sweden, which is 29 more than Sunday. At the public health authorities' press conference, the state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell also took the opportunity to remind of the importance of protecting people over 70 years of age. He pointed out the importance of avoiding visits to the elderly, but also pointed out that other visits to the elderly should be avoided.

  • Lejonbacken, Stockholm Castle

  • Low confidence in elderly care
    The Swedes have a declining confidence in elderly care according to a survey conducted by the Swedish Agency for Social Protection and Contingency (Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap, MSB). Swedish confidence has dropped from 34 percent in mid-April to 22 percent in early May. The virus disease covid-19 has so far affected 212 of 400 elderly residents in Stockholm County, according to the Stockholm region.

  • The view from Stockholm Hilton.

  • The number of asylum seekers halved
    As a result of the corona pandemic, the number of asylum seekers in Sweden has almost halved since the end of March. If travel restrictions become more protracted, the number of asylum seekers is estimated to be 10,000 or less this year. However, the uncertainty in the calculations is large and depends on how the pandemic develops. In the Migration Board's new forecast, the number that is estimated to seek asylum in Sweden this year is reduced by 2,000 persons compared to the February forecast, to 21,000.

  • A powerful photo from the Stockholm outer archipelago by photographer Sören Colbing/Nordic Reach.

  • Unemployment continues to go up in Sweden
    Unemployment in Sweden continues to rise. Now, Arbetsförmedlingen, the Swedish Employment Service, ups its assessment to at least eleven percent this summer. Since the beginning of March, approximately 122,000 people have registered as unemployed in the wake of the corona crisis. At the same time, 69,200 have been notified of termination and about 6,300 have been notified in the past week alone. The number is once again on the increase after going down for a few weeks. Recently, the crisis has begun to affect the manufacturing industry as well.

  • Isabella Lövin, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, feels bailouts for the airlines should also include climate requirements. Photo: Fredrik Hjerling via Wikipedia

  • Lövin suggests climate requirements on airlines
    Large bailouts for the airlines also need to include climate requirements, says Minister of Climate and Environment Isabella Lövin (of Miljöpartiet, the Green party). The Corona crisis does not mean that the climate crisis or the ecological crisis has disappeared, she says. 2020 was planned as the "super-environment year" with a series of heavy climate and environmental meetings around the world. But now most of them are postponed. The focus right now is to fight the consequences of the pandemic. Lövin points out that aviation must also meet future climate targets.