According to the Swedish Migration Board, the guidelines are set by the Public Health Authority to reduce the spread of covid-19. Nevertheless, the authority chooses to move asylum seekers between different homes. Recently, asylum seekers have been moved to both Junsele and Mellansel.

- It still seems that people need to move between accommodation even during this time period and under prevailing conditions. What we do is we both minimize the number of moves and only move symptom-free people, says Jennie Sörman, process manager for reception and housing at the Migration Board.

Risk with collective housing

The Migration Board mainly states two reasons why asylum seekers are being relocated. One is to try to figure out the number of residents, mainly in accommodation where you share common areas such as kitchens, living rooms, showers and toilets.

- There, we still need to make moves to, as far as possible, place people in apartments instead of collective housing. As the guidelines of the Public Health Authority look like, collective housing is a risk in itself. The second reason is that there are asylum seekers who have previously been able to arrange accommodation but who are again in need of housing under the auspices of the Swedish Migration Board. But it is at a minimum level, says Jennie Sörman.

Routines for infected

The Migration Board does not conduct tests of the asylum seekers before they are moved. They can only perform the care. On the other hand, no one who shows signs of being infected by covid-19 is moved. However, if it turns out that someone has been infected, there are routines on how to take care of them.

- We try to ensure that you can take care of your hygiene and get food in a way that does not expose others to infection. We support both information and daily life so that we can stay isolated, says Jennie Sörstam.