Pandemic tests Sweden's image of equal society

The sound of prayer crackling through small computer speakers broke through the silence in the empty hall of Sweden's largest Shia mosque as Akil Zahiri sat alone coordinating an online video call with the congregation in memory of a well-liked member who died recently of COVID-19.

Across Scandinavia and Finland, there is growing evidence and concern that under-privileged immigrant communities are hit worse by the illness than the general population.

"Many of our members have contracted the coronavirus," laments Zahiri, "but you do the best you can."

Zahiri helps administer the mosque on the outskirts of Stockholm that recently canceled all physical events planned for Ramadan and has urged its congregation to stay home for Iftar, the daily breaking of the fast after sunset, and avoid sharing food and snacks with friends.

Sweden has taken a relatively soft approach to fighting the coronavirus that has attracted international fascination. Large gatherings have been banned but restaurants and schools for younger children have remained open. The government has urged physical distancing, trusting the population to do their part. And Swedes, who have high trust in their government, have largely complied.

But trusting people to regulate themselves has left some to pay a heavy price, particularly in migrant communities where some don't speak Swedish fluently and where people are more likely to live in crowded multi-generation households and have jobs that do not permit remote work.

Voices emerged early in the outbreak that anecdotal evidence suggested some groups, in particular immigrants from Somalia or Iraq, were affected by COVID-19 more than others.

Later, nationwide data published in the middle of April by Sweden's Public Health Agency showed, for example, that Somali Swedes made up almost 5 percent of all COVID-19 cases, yet represent less than 1 percent of the population.

In Finland, Helsinki warned of a similar over-representation among Somali-speakers living in the capital - some 200 cases, or about 14%, of total confirmed infections in Helsinki at that time, while in Norway, immigrants make up nearly 15% of the general population, they represent about 25% of COVID19 confirmed case.

Sweden has taken a relatively low-key approach to fighting the virus that relies mainly on voluntary physical distancing by the population. There are concerns the message has not reached everyone in migrant neighbourhoods.

All three countries recognize early failings in community outreach in minority languages and have sought to remedy this.

In the town of Jarfalla outside Stockholm, the municipality has tasked high school students with handing out leaflets in Somali, Persian, French, and other languages, urging people to wash their hands and stay home if unwell.

"It's important that everyone living here who has a different mother-tongue gets the right information," said Warda Abdallah, a 17-year-old Somali-Swede during a stop in a residential neighborhood that the municipality says faces social segregation.

"We have worked harder on communicating with these groups," said Anders Wallensten, Sweden's Deputy Epidemiologist "to make sure they have the knowledge to protect themselves and avoid the spreading disease to others."

But local teacher and community activist Rashid Musa says Sweden's problems run deeper.

"I wish it were that easy, that you needed to just translate a few papers," he said. "We need to look at the more fundamental issue, which is class, which is racism, which is social status, which is income."

"The rich have the opportunity to put themselves into quarantine, they can go to their summer houses," said Musa, pointing to the contrast of over-crowded housing, including multi-generational households in poorer neighbourhoods.

Furthermore, a key government recommendation in Sweden is for individuals to work from home if possible but that is harder in marginalized areas where many work in the service sector.

Evidence of this disparity can be found in anonymous mobile phone data collected by phone operator Telia, which has been providing the Swedish Health Authority with information about population mobility.

By comparing the number of people in an area early in the morning with the number of people from the same area who traveled to another area for at least one hour during the day, Telia estimates how many go to work and how many stay home.

Data shows a 12 percentage point difference between one of Stockholm's most affluent suburbs, Danderyd, and Botkryka, one of capital's suburbs with the highest percentage of first and second-generation immigrants.