Infection rates are rising both domestically and in the capital. Growth worries Health Minister Bent Høie
– I am concerned about the high infection rate. Within last 24 hours in Norway 551 new infections were recorded - the most since January 13.
In Oslo, 24 new infections were registered in the last 231 hours. From November 19, the number was not so high.
- In recent weeks, we have lifted restrictions for children and young people in the country and at the local level. This could lead to the conviction of many that other measures were also relaxed, says the Minister of Health.
It is important to adhere to the measures
In early January, the government introduced stringent new national measures. A few weeks later, strict countermeasures were put in place in the Oslo region following a mutant virus outbreak in Nordre Follo.
Høie emphasizes how important it is to stick to infection prevention rules now to avoid new ones further restrictions.
Therefore, anyone who may still be in the home office must continue to limit the number of meetings outside their own home, and any events that bring people together outside their own municipality must be canceled or postponed. He says this applies to the whole country.
. The number of infections with the mutant virus is increasing
In Norway, the number of more contagious mutations of the virus is increasing, and health authorities expect it to be the dominant variant soon.
Increased infection rates are a challenge because they are likely caused by the increasing number of components of the more infectious variants of viruses, says NTB, deputy director of health for Espen Rostrup Nakstad.
"There are several epidemics that municipalities are battling fast, including in Agder, and more infections occur in younger age groups," he says.
"The affected municipalities are working hard on it and we can still prevent a third wave of infection in the coming weeks if we take control of the chains of infection," says Nakstad.
I still hope for a normal summer
Norway continues to secure contracts for yet more vaccine supplies. If all goes to plan, all adult Norwegians can be fully vaccinated by summer, reports the National Institute of Public Health.
The good news about vaccines fueled a surge of optimism about more normal conditions this summer.
"If we manage to contain the infection in March and April, we could have an almost normal summer," says Høie.
