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Today in Sweden For Members

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

Catherine Edwards
Catherine Edwards - [email protected]
Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
STOCKHOLM 20210916 Statsminister Stefan Löfven håller en digital pressträff tillsammans med socialminister Lena Hallengren och utbildningsminister Anna Ekström. Vid pressträffen medverkar även Folkhälsomyndighetens generaldirektör Johan Carlson Foto: Duygu Getiren / TT kod 12080

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

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New Covid-19 guidelines for unvaccinated people, and vaccines for teens

In case you missed it, yesterday Sweden announced two developments in the country's Covid-19 strategy.

The Covid-19 vaccine will be offered to children aged 12-15 starting from November, with the aim of not only boosting the protection against the virus among the population, but also ensuring schools can stay open.

As well as that, almost all general recommendations that currently apply to individuals will be scrapped (such as keeping distance from others and avoiding larger events) from September 29th, with a few key exceptions. Unvaccinated people will still be recommended to avoid close contact with people outside their close circle, which in practice means avoiding bars, restaurants, concerts and sports events. Everyone is still expected to stay at home and get tested if they develop Covid-19 symptoms regardless of their vaccination status.

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Sweden gives green light to vaccinated tourists from some countries

In Covid travel news, the government has decided to accept vaccine certificates issued by North Macedonia, San Marino, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the Vatican as equivalent to those issued by the EU, meaning that people with these certificates can enter Sweden without entry restrictions or test requirements.

It's the first step in opening up travel to more countries. Sweden intends to approve vaccine certificates as and when they are approved by the EU, and the EU Commission is expected to add more countries to the list soon, including the UK.

Swedish vocabulary: certificate/proof – intyg

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Magdalena Andersson's path to Social Democrat leadership is clear

It's been looking like a done deal for some time, but Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson is now all but certain to become the next leader of the Social Democrats after another six party districts nominated her for leadership.

Dalarna, Gävleborg, Jämtland, Västernorrland, Västerbotten and Norrbotten jointly nominated Andersson, writing in their statement that due to their size, "the question is now settled". It means 22 out of a total of 26 districts have put her name forward, with no-one else nominated and all the other likely contenders having said they don't want the job and putting their support behind the Finance Minister.

Swedish vocabulary: settled/decided – avgjord

E-commerce still booming as pandemic restrictions lifted

When Sweden introduced recommendations to keep a distance and avoid busy areas including shops, the online shopping industry benefited, but it has continued to grow even as society has re-opened.

"We have seen how the pandemic has increased the pace of the digital transformation of retail and the figures are an indication that this development is continuing," the chief economist from the Swedish Trade Confederation, Johan Davidson, said in a statement.

During the first eight months of the year, there was a 30 percent rise in clothes and shoes bought online compared with the corresponding period last year. There were also large increases in furniture and home furnishings, electronics and food, according to the organisation.

Swedish vocabulary: e-commerce – e-handel

'Unique' dinosaur bone uncovered by tourists in Skåne

A Dutch family stumbled across an 80-million-year-old dinosaur bone while fossil-hunting in Näsum, Skåne, Kristianstadsbladet was first to report.

"Every piece of the puzzle is valuable, now we have something we have not seen before," Filip Lundgren, the paleontologist who runs the field station, told TT. He described the bone as "unique" in Sweden. The family initially took the leg bone home, but later contacted the field station, and the find is now being analysed in Lund.

Swedish vocabulary: dinosaur – dinosaurie

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