There is an outbreak of mutation in the 'British virus' in Nordre Follo. The epidemic has probably spread to several places in the municipality and may be going on for a long time. The commune is currently closed.
"We have a serious situation in our municipality," said chief physician Kerstin Anine Johnsen Myhrvold at a press conference on Friday.
This is the first time in Norway that a mutant virus has been detected in local outbreaks with no known route of infection.
On Thursday evening, the municipality received confirmation that two residents of the housing and service center in Langhus had been infected "British variant", and after this confirmation, the commune raised the alarm.
The samples were taken on January 3 due to the outbreak of an epidemic in the center. Both residents were over 90 years old and died.
. Cutting off a region
As a result of the eruption, the entire commune will be closed by Wednesday.
All stores, except grocery stores and pharmacies, will be closed. All schools and kindergartens are also closed.
All residents are also asked not to leave the commune.
- This means that the situation in Nordre Follo could affect activities in neighboring municipalities, including Oslo.
The board in the neighboring municipality of Ås will meet FHI on the mutation on Friday. They asked for advice on what to do.
Long persistent virus
The outbreak in the Langhus residential and service center was protracted, and the municipality wanted FHI to investigate the virus at the housing and service center.
The analyzes therefore show that two cases of a mutant virus have been confirmed.
The explosion at the Langhus residential and service center involves 22 employees and 12 residents. The last positive case fell on January 18, 2021. Six deaths were reported in the housing and service center.
It is not yet known if more people are infected with the mutant virus.
These are the measures taken at Nordre Follo
- Kindergartens and schools will be closed after the end of the day until Wednesday. Then they have to prepare to start on the red level.
- All shops are closed, except grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations.
- A firm recommendation not to leave the commune.
- Strong recommendation not to visit homes.
- Also closed for bingo, swimming pools etc.
. Three weeks
The commune believes that the outbreak of the epidemic has consequences for other companies in the commune, possibly also in other communes. They believe that the epidemic has been going on for a long time.
- It could have spread for three weeks, says Myhrvold's chief city physician.
Akershus University Hospital was also informed about the outbreak.
The local overseer says the situation is confusing.
Health Minister Bent Høie (H) tells TV 2 that the epidemic is serious.
"This is a serious situation that we feared and expected," says Høie.
"This shows how important it is for us to keep national measures and entry restrictions with a quarantine obligation," he also says.
- It is good that the municipality and the National Institute of Public Health are working well together to deal with this situation. Norwegian Institute of Health The public is also prioritizing samples from Nordre Follo to be able to quickly identify the spread of the mutant virus.
Virus outbreaks in kindergarten
The outbreak in the Tussestien kindergarten where 5 people are infected is suspected to be related to the outbreak in the nursing home. Due to the possible connection with the outbreak in the nursing home, the kindergarten will be closed on January 22.01.2021, 22.1.2021 due to a complicated infection situation. All children and staff are offered tests on XNUMX/XNUMX/XNUMX.
The mutant virus is considered more contagious but does not cause more or fewer diseases.
In cases infected with the "English variant", a prolonged quarantine application and testing at the end of the quarantine period is strongly recommended.
