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Coronavirus takes a toll in Sweden’s immigrant community: Somali and Iraqi immigrants hit hardest
Sacramento Bee ^ | 05/09/2020 | David Keyton

Posted on 05/09/2020 10:29:11 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

The flight from Italy was one of the last arrivals that day at the Stockholm airport. A Swedish couple in their 50s walked up and loaded their skis into Razzak Khalaf's taxi.

It was early March and concerns over the coronavirus were already present, but the couple, both coughing for the entire 45-minute journey, assured Khalaf they were healthy and just suffering from a change in the weather. Four days later, the Iraqi immigrant got seriously ill with COVID-19.

Still not able to return to work, Khalaf is part of the growing evidence that those in immigrant communities in the Nordic nations are being hit harder by the pandemic than the general population.

Sweden took a relatively soft approach to fighting the coronavirus, one that attracted international attention. Large gatherings were banned but restaurants and schools for younger children have stayed open. The government has urged social distancing, and Swedes have largely complied.

The country has paid a heavy price, with 3,175 fatalities from COVID-19. That's more than 31 deaths per 100,000 population, compared with about 8 per 100,000 in neighboring Denmark, which imposed a strict lockdown early on that is only now being slowly lifted.

Inside Sweden's immigrant communities, anecdotal evidence emerged early in the outbreak that suggested that some — particularly those from Somalia and Iraq — were hit harder than others. Last month, data from Sweden’s Public Health Agency confirmed that Somali Swedes made up almost 5 percent of the country's COVID-19 cases, yet represented less than 1 percent of its 10 million people.

Many in these communities are more likely to live in crowded, multigeneration households and are unable to work remotely.

“No one cares for taxi drivers in Sweden,” said Khalaf, who tested positive and was admitted to a hospital

(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: africa; covid19; immigrants; iraq; italy; somalia; sweden
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

41 posted on 05/09/2020 11:18:55 AM PDT by SeekAndFind (look at Michigan, it will)
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To: SeekAndFind

Ya gotta use toilet paper and wash your hands.

This has been a PSA for the Imams.

5.56mm


42 posted on 05/09/2020 11:20:01 AM PDT by M Kehoe (DRAIN THE SWAMP! Finish THE WALL!)
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To: SeekAndFind

No-Go Zones do not assimilate to Western Culture.


43 posted on 05/09/2020 11:32:02 AM PDT by fella ("As it was before Noah so shall it be again,")
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To: PapaBear3625

“As we get into warmer weather, more people will be walking around in t-shirts and shorts, and spending more time outdoors.”

That will no doubt help - but I read a study where a group of SoCal lifeguards were tested, and to the researchers’ surprise about 75% of them (IIRC) had 25(OH)D levels below 30. I believe the study stated that they didn’t use sunscreen.


44 posted on 05/09/2020 11:32:58 AM PDT by Magic Fingers (Political correctness mutates in order to remain virulent.)
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To: SeekAndFind

You never give up do you? Will you be back to apologize for being wrong or are you going to insist that the tiny numbers are actually huge?


45 posted on 05/09/2020 11:38:56 AM PDT by webheart
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To: SeekAndFind

Go home!

I hate all these sob stories.


46 posted on 05/09/2020 11:39:56 AM PDT by aquila48 (Do not let them make you care! Guilting you is how they control you.)
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To: webheart

RE: Will you be back to apologize for being wrong or are you going to insist that the tiny numbers are actually huge?

How can I be wrong when I am at this point, still suspending my judgment?

Here are my tentative conclusions:

Is Covid-19 more contagious than the flu? Yes.

Is Covid-19 more lethal than the flu? Yes.

How much more lethal and how much more contagious? I don’t know.

Will Covid-19 fizzle like most other viruses ( e.g. Spanish Flu, Hong Kong Flu, H1N1 )? My tentative answer is MOST LIKELY. <-— The answer to these questions I won’t know definitely until long after the fact.


47 posted on 05/09/2020 11:49:43 AM PDT by SeekAndFind (look at Michigan, it will)
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To: Autonomous User

Hold it I think I feel a tear coming on..............uh no


48 posted on 05/09/2020 11:58:41 AM PDT by ronnie raygun
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To: SeekAndFind

Hmmmm. Darker complected people don’t fare as well as fair complected people in areas noted for long, long winter nights and low sun angles during the day?

Could it be...

...low Vitamin-D?

[long pause]

Nahhhhh, that’s just crazy talk!


49 posted on 05/09/2020 12:01:38 PM PDT by null and void (By the pricking of my lungs, Something wicked this way comes ...)
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To: SeekAndFind

what a shame!

Headline is probably a lie anyway.


50 posted on 05/09/2020 12:13:20 PM PDT by bewildered
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To: palmer

It’s a bit of a dilemma when you get sick away from home.

Are you supposed to stay in the hotel or whatever for however long, cancel travel tickets etc? You are exposing people wherever you are.


51 posted on 05/09/2020 12:24:31 PM PDT by Persevero (I am afraid propriety has been set at naught. - Jane Austen)
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To: Autonomous User

They will be getting free paid by us healthcare. Don’t care if they croak.


52 posted on 05/09/2020 12:46:28 PM PDT by GailA (I'm a Trump Girl)
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To: Magic Fingers

I’m one of those 15 mins in the sun and burn Celtic skinned people. I get D3 via a vitamin pill along with the 30 mg Zinc.


53 posted on 05/09/2020 12:49:03 PM PDT by GailA (I'm a Trump Girl)
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To: GailA

Good idea! I don’t burn that easily but I still don’t spend more than about 20 minutes in the (Phoenix) sun. I’ve taken a D3 supplement (10,000 i.u.) for about 15 years and added Vitamin K about 4 years ago.


54 posted on 05/09/2020 12:59:24 PM PDT by Magic Fingers (Political correctness mutates in order to remain virulent.)
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To: SeekAndFind

There are also studies suggesting vitamin D protects against the Wuhan virus ... and dark skinned people in northern areas get less of it.


55 posted on 05/09/2020 1:14:14 PM PDT by tbw2
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To: SeekAndFind
"Somali and Iraqi immigrants hit hardest"

Feel good news of the day. Can we sent Omar to Sweden as Ambassador?

56 posted on 05/09/2020 1:44:28 PM PDT by mass55th ("Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." ~~ John Wayne)
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To: SeekAndFind
Again with comparisons to Denmark 🍒 🍒 🍒
57 posted on 05/09/2020 2:27:17 PM PDT by The Fop (God Bless Donald Trump, Frank Sinatra, Joan Rivers, and the Fightin' Rat Pack Wing of the GOP)
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To: Autonomous User

2 words........BOO HOO


58 posted on 05/09/2020 3:21:48 PM PDT by faturism ( I)
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To: Persevero
Are you supposed to stay in the hotel or whatever for however long, cancel travel tickets etc? You are exposing people wherever you are.

It was "early March" They should have taken precautions to not expose anyone, especially not a random taxi driver.

59 posted on 05/09/2020 3:49:48 PM PDT by palmer (Democracy Dies Six Ways from Sunday)
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To: SeekAndFind

wellll...could be their bodies are accustomed to former hot sunny lands whereas Sweden lacks both....cold and dark.


60 posted on 05/09/2020 3:56:07 PM PDT by caww
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