Today in Sweden: A round-up of the latest news on Friday
Find out what's going on in Sweden today with The Local's short round-up of the news in less than five minutes.
Sweden passes one million coronavirus cases
On Thursday Sweden reported more than one million cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic: 1,002,121 to be exact. In the early months of the pandemic, Sweden had a relatively low rate of testing, so the real number is likely higher.
More than 14,000 people have died according to the Public Health Agency's figures, which show deaths where the person had tested positive for Covid-19 in the previous 30 days. At 10am today, Health Minister Lena Hallengren is expected to present a new set of figures on Covid-19 in Sweden, based on the National Board of Health and Welfare's death registry.
The death registry's statistics are based on how doctors registered the official cause of death, so may include deaths where the person did not get tested but doctors believe they had Covid-19, and would also not include deaths where the person had Covid-19 but died of other causes.
Swedish vocabulary: cause of death – dödsorsak
Criticism over hospital decision to stop hormone treatment of young trans people
Hormone treatment of transgender people aged under 16 is set to be stopped at Astrid Lindgren's Children's Hospital, as ETC was first to report.
The decision is based on a number of studies, including a 2019 investigation from the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services (SBU) which highlighted limited knowledge of side effects and long-term consequences of the treatment, and a recent UK ruling which found that under-16s are too young to agree to it.
National guidelines currently allow for minors to be offered treatment to slow puberty if certain conditions are met, while in order for a minor to be given hormone treatment to match their gender identity (giving oestrogen to trans women or testosterone for trans men) the conditions are stricter, including a requirement for gender dysphoria. These guidelines are being revised with a new version expected later this year.
The move to cancel the treatment at the Stockholm hospital has been criticised by the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU) which called it a "gigantic setback".
"The fact that important care is being cancelled for young people in Sweden - which should be a country at the forefront of LGBTQI issues - is terrible," RFSU's president told the TT newswire.
Swedish vocabulary: transgender people – transpersoner
Record rise in house prices
Sweden's property market has been one of the sectors to have boomed during the pandemic, and the trend is continuing.
Nationwide, prices of detached houses have risen by 19 percent according to a new study by Swedish real estate agents, while greater Malmö had the biggest annual rise of 23 percent.
Swedish vocabulary: price rise – prisökning
Ryanair to start flying from Arlanda this autumn
Good news for budget travel fans and those hoping to visit family overseas later this year. Starting this autumn, Ryanair will fly from Stockholm’s main airport to 21 European destinations.
The low-cost airline has previously flown from Skavsta Airport, which is located approximately 80 minutes south of Stockholm by bus. The new overseas routes include Bologna and Milan in Italy; Warsaw, Krakow and Gdansk in Poland; Liverpool and London in the UK; Malaga and Alicante in Spain, and more.
Swedish vocabulary: airline – flygbolag
Summer weather on the way
After a dreary week, warmer weather and sunshine are finally forecast for much of the country next week, with Stockholm set to get particularly summery days.
From Saturday, temperatures are forecast by weather agency SMHI to stabilise and then start rising. Stockholm could see temperatures of 18C on Monday and 20C on Tuesday, with Gothenburg and Malmö expected to be a few degrees cooler. By the end of the week, temperatures around 15C are forecast for the big city regions.
In northern Sweden, the end of the week should be the warmest: Umeå is forecast 7C and rain on Monday, but a slight rise to 12C on Friday.
Swedish vocabulary: summer weather – sommarväder
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Sweden passes one million coronavirus cases
On Thursday Sweden reported more than one million cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic: 1,002,121 to be exact. In the early months of the pandemic, Sweden had a relatively low rate of testing, so the real number is likely higher.
More than 14,000 people have died according to the Public Health Agency's figures, which show deaths where the person had tested positive for Covid-19 in the previous 30 days. At 10am today, Health Minister Lena Hallengren is expected to present a new set of figures on Covid-19 in Sweden, based on the National Board of Health and Welfare's death registry.
The death registry's statistics are based on how doctors registered the official cause of death, so may include deaths where the person did not get tested but doctors believe they had Covid-19, and would also not include deaths where the person had Covid-19 but died of other causes.
Swedish vocabulary: cause of death – dödsorsak
Criticism over hospital decision to stop hormone treatment of young trans people
Hormone treatment of transgender people aged under 16 is set to be stopped at Astrid Lindgren's Children's Hospital, as ETC was first to report.
The decision is based on a number of studies, including a 2019 investigation from the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services (SBU) which highlighted limited knowledge of side effects and long-term consequences of the treatment, and a recent UK ruling which found that under-16s are too young to agree to it.
National guidelines currently allow for minors to be offered treatment to slow puberty if certain conditions are met, while in order for a minor to be given hormone treatment to match their gender identity (giving oestrogen to trans women or testosterone for trans men) the conditions are stricter, including a requirement for gender dysphoria. These guidelines are being revised with a new version expected later this year.
The move to cancel the treatment at the Stockholm hospital has been criticised by the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU) which called it a "gigantic setback".
"The fact that important care is being cancelled for young people in Sweden - which should be a country at the forefront of LGBTQI issues - is terrible," RFSU's president told the TT newswire.
Swedish vocabulary: transgender people – transpersoner
Record rise in house prices
Sweden's property market has been one of the sectors to have boomed during the pandemic, and the trend is continuing.
Nationwide, prices of detached houses have risen by 19 percent according to a new study by Swedish real estate agents, while greater Malmö had the biggest annual rise of 23 percent.
Swedish vocabulary: price rise – prisökning
Ryanair to start flying from Arlanda this autumn
Good news for budget travel fans and those hoping to visit family overseas later this year. Starting this autumn, Ryanair will fly from Stockholm’s main airport to 21 European destinations.
The low-cost airline has previously flown from Skavsta Airport, which is located approximately 80 minutes south of Stockholm by bus. The new overseas routes include Bologna and Milan in Italy; Warsaw, Krakow and Gdansk in Poland; Liverpool and London in the UK; Malaga and Alicante in Spain, and more.
Swedish vocabulary: airline – flygbolag
Summer weather on the way
After a dreary week, warmer weather and sunshine are finally forecast for much of the country next week, with Stockholm set to get particularly summery days.
From Saturday, temperatures are forecast by weather agency SMHI to stabilise and then start rising. Stockholm could see temperatures of 18C on Monday and 20C on Tuesday, with Gothenburg and Malmö expected to be a few degrees cooler. By the end of the week, temperatures around 15C are forecast for the big city regions.
In northern Sweden, the end of the week should be the warmest: Umeå is forecast 7C and rain on Monday, but a slight rise to 12C on Friday.
Swedish vocabulary: summer weather – sommarväder
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