Photos: Furloughed due to coronavirus, staff retrain to help medics in Sweden

Furloughed because of the coronavirus pandemic, airline and hotel employees in Sweden are retraining to work as hospital and nursing home assistants as the death toll crosses 1200 in the Scandinavian country. The initiative offers cabin crew -- mostly from SAS Scandinavian airlines which said last month it would place 10,000 crew on furlough -- courses to qualify to assist in hospitals and training for hotel workers to work in nursing homes.

Updated on: Apr 16, 2020 4:14 PM IST

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People laid off over COVID-19 in Sweden listen to instructors during a course retraining them to work in hospitals and care homes in Stockholm. The measure is part of Sweden’s softer approach to containing the coronavirus, an outlier in Europe. As of Wednesday, a total of 1,203 people had died from nearly 12,000 confirmed cases. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)

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A class preparing hospitality workers for assistance roles in hospitals and care homes. “I never could have imagined when we started the new year 2020 that I would end up working here,” Leena Engblom, a SAS Scandinavian airlines cabin attendant told AFP. Engblom signed up to train at Sophiahemmet University, a nursing school and also a private hospital. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)

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Leena Engblom, outside a tent for testing and receiving potential coronavirus COVID-19 patients. After a three-day crash course in communicable diseases, hygiene and treating patients and one day of practical training, Engblom, 48, now works as a medical assistant. She now does administrative tasks, helps clean and welcomes patients. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)

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An instructor delivers a lesson at Stockholm’s Grand Hotel. The first round of training, part of the Skill Shift Initiative, for 30 SAS cabin crew took place on March 31, and another 300 will be trained in the coming weeks. SAS announced it was placing nearly 10,000 of its staff on furlough because of the drop in demand for flights amid the pandemic. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)

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Johanna Adami, President of Sophiahemmet university gives a lecture online. Adami told AFP the crews’ work experience meant they already had many of the necessary skills. “They are trained in first aid, the most common diseases, and also safety and how to care for people.” (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)

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Course attendees pictured a screen during an online session with Johanna Adami. The training started at Sophiahemmet University, but after Sweden decided to close higher education establishments it is now carried out remotely online. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)

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Near the building where Adami usually delivers her lectures, two yellow tents have been erected to test suspected COVID-19 cases, manned by doctors and nurses who duck in and out in protective clothing. Doctor Hilmar Gerber, operations manager of the primary health clinic, said the scheme’s graduates were proving “very helpful and a very good resource.” (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)

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Nurses instruct attendees on working around frail patients. The assistants’ work allows other staff to focus on the rising number of COVID-19 patients. Only severe cases, patients with symptoms seeking hospital care, health-care personnel and staff at retirement homes are being tested in Sweden. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)

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Instructor Christina Riddeback, a Stockholm region nurse, said the initiative was well-timed given the rising cases in Sweden’s nursing homes. “Slowly, COVID-19 is spreading among this group of people,” she said, standing next to a gurney with a dummy laid out for the students. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)

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Hotel employees watch as nurses demonstrate how to lift patients, help them stand and make beds. The three-day course will land them in a care facility in the capital. “Here in the Stockholm region we are in big need of this kind of support,” Riddeback told AFP. (Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP)