GUWonder

It seems to me that Sweden remains on course to continue to just ignore Covid-19 as much as it can going forward. In other words, I think they will want to open up even more for international travel after the end of next month (if not even earlier). The country's rather high number of reported daily Covid-19 deaths seems to not be shaking things up in the country. This is even as Sweden's daily Covid-19 death counts were closer to 2-3 times worse in recent days than they were at the beginning of the month. Now it's all "they all would have died anyway" despite this being the third worst deadly peak period for the pandemic in Sweden.

With increased Russian moves against Ukraine, any remaining focus on Covid-19 in Sweden will take a back seat to developments there and to "how many (Ukrainian) refugees will this mean now?!?!". Covid-19 is no longer even background music in the country.

the810

I agree. The pandemic is over as far as Swedish government and population are concerned, at least until the autumn.

GUWonder

As of February 11th, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up (from 16,358) to 16,501 deaths.
As of February 15th, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up to 16,579 deaths.
As of Februrary 16th, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up to 16,716 deaths.
As of February 17th, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up to 16,768 deaths.
As of February 18th, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up to 16,852 deaths.
As of February 22nd, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up to 16,933 deaths.

Fredrik74

Since the EU now says restrictions can be removed I expect Sweden to remove them. .

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/p...ird-countries/

GUWonder

Since some time in 2021, people have been filing for asylum in Sweden on the basis of not being vaccinated against Covid-19. Some have claimed for asylum on the basis of not wanting to be sent back to their countries' of origin because of what they think being unvaccinated will mean for them back in country of citizenship. It's quite the mix of people trying to claim for asylum in Sweden on such basis.

I won't go into what some US embassy and Canadian embassy personnel think about their fellow North Americans claiming for asylum in Sweden on the basis of vaccination status (i.e., of claiming to not be vaccinated and what it would mean if sent back to country of citizenship).

84fiero

Well that's certainly a...creative...attempt at an asylum claim! I can't imagine anyone seriously thinking that would work for them.

GUWonder

"Attempt"? It's "attempts" -- as in multiple, not singular.

Why wouldn't anyone seriously think it would work for them? Even the use of the most questionable of asylum claims in Sweden are often about trying to buy whatever additional time to remain in the country that they can try to swing.

Consistency and likelihood of claims being eventually accepted isn't really the point for a lot of these claims, as often claimants are in fact seriously thinking about buying time to stay in the country longer and this is an arrow in that quiver to try to do just that. Sometimes North American claim applicants even have gone back and forth between having the claim in and not having it in and then changing their strategy to try to stay in the country longer. Since Covid-19 slowed down some government things in Sweden, an American or Canadian or any other third country national in Sweden paying around 1000 SEK to try to have their "mask freedum", "vaccination freedom" or whatever other Covid-19-related "freedom" claim in Sweden worked better for their "freedom" than would have otherwise been the case. At least in terms of buying additional time in the country. That they should end up blacklisted at Schengen ports of entry in the future, well, that's a problem for another day.

nacho

Some Swedes were thinking seeking asylum in Norway because of Covid-19 with the reason that the government failed to protect them from a pandemic. Some actually moved to Norway and not everyone has the mean to stay there.

vanillabean

Will Norway let them? I hear only young people can move to Canada due to the means/income vs public benefits balance over time.

(Frost for the third morning in a row here in the Bay Area; I might as well live in Canada or Norway if I could!)

intuition

All citizens of nordic countries have the right to live and work in nordic countries, based on the nordic passport union from the 50's.
No need to seek asylum.

GUWonder

For a period of time during the pandemic in Sweden -- back at a time when the virus was far more prevalent in people in Sweden than in people in Denmark -- Danish citizens who lived in Sweden were repeatedly facing problems trying to get to their primary/exclusive homes in Sweden because Swedish border control claimed they weren't living in Sweden just because they hadn't been listed as registered as living in Sweden.

This has me wondering if any Danes requested asylum in Sweden when the Swedish border police wanted to turn them out of Sweden due to not believing that they lived in Sweden. Wouldn't it mean that the police couldn't turn them back right away and would have to put them up somewhere in Sweden while seeing who blinks first? Or would they just claim Dublin?

The need to seek/claim asylum is not always a need for asylum as much as it is a need to seek/claim asylum so as to get what they want: entry and/or additional time in the country.

Check out the Norwegians who applied for asylum in Sweden in 2020:

https://www.migrationsverket.se/down...eived_2020.pdf

2 Norwegians and 1 Dane.

CPH-Flyer

That's an interesting list, 4 unaccompanied minors from Japan applied for asylum in Sweden.... Makes you wonder...

GUWonder

Sweden's third worst peak for Covid-19 daily death continues:

As of February 9th, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up (from 16,244) to 16,358 deaths.
As of February 11th, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up (from 16,358) to 16,501 deaths.
As of February 15th, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up to 16,579 deaths.
As of Februrary 16th, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up to 16,716 deaths.
As of February 17th, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up to 16,768 deaths.
As of February 18th, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up to 16,852 deaths.
As of February 22nd, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up to 16,933 deaths.
As of February 23rd, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up to 17,064 deaths.
As of February 24th, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up to 17,083 deaths.
As of February 25th, Sweden's reported Covid-19 death count jumped up to 17,142 deaths.


Perhaps those classified as the 4 unaccompanied Japanese minors are Japanese citizen children of a parent living in or from Sweden? Is identity/nationality theft a factor in some of these claims during the pandemic in Sweden and what Migrationsverket puts down? Possibly for some of the claims, but not generally for the cases of the applicants who used something Covid-19 related for their asylum claims in Sweden.

nacho

They can go there to live but if they are on any benefits I don't think they can get the same benefits in another Nordic country, that's why that person returned to Sweden.

Wow...

vanillabean

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_183632.htm

https://inews.co.uk/news/world/why-a...oining-1486283

https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-...ew-2022-02-26/

It should be interesting to see whether Sweden (and Finland) in this area one day may become more like Denmark (and Norway).