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NORWAY plans to fully lift its lockdown restrictions by the middle of next month after suffering just 209 deaths during the coronavirus pandemic.
The low fatality rate is in stark contract to neighboring Sweden – the only country in Europe not to implement strict measures – where 3,040 people have died.
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State officials in Sweden have now been forced to admit their “trusting the people” approach to the outbreak has been a “big failure”.
Norway was among the first to go into full lockdown on March 12 and now plans to have nearly all restrictions lifted by June 15.
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg has now announced some measure will start being phased out from as early as next week.
Private gatherings of 20 people will be allowed as long as people stick to social distancing rules and public gatherings of up to 50 will also be permitted.
Workplaces will also reopen under the same guidelines and sports involving less than 20 people can now go ahead.
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Schools and colleges will reopen on May 11 if the infection rates – which have flattened out – continue to stay down.
Bars and amusement parks will then open at the beginning of June.
The remaining restrictions will be lifted on June 15, with gatherings of up to 200 people allowed, gyms reopened and the country’s football league kicking off once more.
“You have shown us patience, now it is our turn to give back. That is why we are presenting a plan to reopen Norway, a plan to take back everyday life,” Solberg said.
The move comes after Norway squashed its crucial ‘R’ figure which is the number of people each virus carrier infects on average – to just 0.49.
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Having an ‘R’ figure of less than 1.0 is considered a milestone in beating the disease.
Solberg added: “Our goal is that by June 15 we will have reopened most of the things that were closed.
“But there is an important condition. We will only end confinement on these dates if we manage to keep the epidemic under control.”
Over the border in Sweden things look very different.
Crowds have been photographed flocking to Stockholm’s waterfront and malls, with some people sipping cocktails in the sun, while in very close proximity to each other.
Sweden did not implement lockdowns as their approach has been based on the “principle of responsibility”.
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Officials have allowed schools for under-16s, cafes, bars, restaurants and businesses to stay open while encouraging people and businesses to follow social distancing guidelines.
The country’s approach has received widespread criticism as its death toll is significantly higher than its Nordic neighbors, which put in place strict containment measures.
Sweden’s virus death rate is 291 per million inhabitants – compared to Norway’s death rate of 40 per million, Denmark’s rate of 87, or Finland’s rate of 45.
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