NEWS Things are not quite the same this year. And many of us are now facing a tough decision – how to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve or spend our holidays in a safe way. The university does not intend to advise its students and staff against travelling or seeing their family and friends. All the same, we wish to urge everyone to follow the guidelines issued by Swedish authorities, and figure out new ways of celebrating without risk of spreading infection.
Nothing is quite the same during the pandemic.
ImageMostphotos“Every individual is responsible for taking measures to protect others and themselves against COVID-19. Everyone must consider their actions and make choices to reduce the risk of spreading disease,” says Stephan Stenmark, county medical officer at Region Västerbotten.
The Public Health Agency of Sweden also writes that it is important to consider if your planned travel really is necessary. Or can you figure out new ways of spending the holidays with the small circle of people you are already in, or in new ways that enable physical distancing?
If you do decide to travel or spend time with a new circle of people during the holidays, please take the precaution to isolate yourself and meet a bare minimum of people for one week before and one week after. In doing so, you can contribute to reducing the risk of infection both whilst travelling and in meeting new people.
A key message from the authorities is to limit all gatherings to a maximum of eight people. These should be your closest friends and family, and you should limit new contacts and stick to the same group of eight as much as possible, throughout the holidays.
This links below provide information from Swedish authorities and news providers that can be of help when planning the upcoming weeks.
The Local and Radio Sweden provide news in English.
For those of you who can read Swedish, or have mastered tricks to translate Swedish texts, the following information regarding the upcoming holidays can also be useful.
Information about your studies and work with regards to COVID-19 is found on umu.se/en/covid-19.