Sweden's Princess Sofia dons scrubs to help healthcare

Sweden's Princess Sofia has begun doing shifts as a healthcare assistant in Stockholm after completing a three-day course to help ease strained healthcare resources during the new coronavirus pandemic, the Swedish Royal Court said Friday.

The 35-year-old princess started volunteering at the Sophiahemmet hospital in Stockholm on Thursday. "As the honorary chair of Sophiahemmet, she wants to help out in this crisis that Sweden is in," Margareta Thorgren, information director at the royal court, told AFP.

Princess Sofia, who joined the royal family when she married Prince Carl Philip in 2015, completed a three-day course last week to be able to help out.

The course was part of an initiative to re-train furloughed airline cabin crew and hotel employees to work as hospital and nursing home staff.

Sweden has not imposed the extraordinary lockdown measures seen across Europe, instead urging people to take responsibility and follow official recommendations.

The government has banned gatherings of more than 50 people and barred visits to nursing homes.

On Friday, Sweden reported 13,216 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,400 deaths.