Trondheim has a total ban on alcohol consumption, company closings, and party bans. The business community in the city is concerned about several thousand layoffs and greater mental strain on employees.
On Monday evening, the mayor of Trondheim decided to introduce a new city closure.
- The infection situation is considered to be very serious, said the commune director Morten Wolden.
The new measures include a complete end to alcohol service, a ban on events and company closures.
The measures are in response to the surge in infection in Trondheim in the weeks following May 17. Which put a heavy burden on detecting infections.
The measures will run for one week until June 8. A possible extension is then considered.
"In fact, we are now closing large parts of the city," said the Wolden municipality director when the measures were presented on Monday.
The NHO provides for up to 2000 layoffs
NHO Trøndelag's regional director, Tord Lien, estimates the closure will lead to 1000 to 2000 workers receiving notice of dismissal "within a few days".
- A single decision that affects the vast majority of occupations is to stop drinking. It directly affects restaurants, but also hotels that have so far been relatively well-booked, especially on weekends. In addition, it will affect transportation and other services.
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Lien believes that today's measures need to be taken longer to see how they actually work. He also sees other alternative measures that could have been put in place.
- The municipality should first and foremost ensure that its measures are actually respected, with an effective system of checks and sanctions, says Lien.
- Instead of stopping serving alcohol, the municipality could introduce requirements for table reservations or a maximum of four or six people per table.
He also criticizes the inability to track the infection in Trondheim.
We will be fired again
Famous chef Heidi Bjerkan runs, among other things, the Credo restaurant, which has one Michelin star. He says they just need to "bite their teeth" in the face of the new shutdown.
