42 new cases of infection in Bergen – introduces stricter measures – VG

The municipality of Bergen has put crisis staff in due to the ongoing corona outbreak in the city.

In the last 24 hours, 42 people have been confirmed infected. A total of 1,028 people have been infected in the city since February.

The number of infections has increased considerably in the last two weeks. This was explained by councilor Roger Valhammer (Labor Party) at the press conference where the municipality presents stricter measures.

– Most cases have been linked to cluster outbreaks among students. We saw a clear decrease in infection rates on Friday, but developments in recent days have now shown that we need increasingly powerful measures to fight the infection, Valhammer says.

Check the VG crown special with updated figures from the municipalities.

Here are the measurements:

• Private events with more than 10 people are prohibited. Before, the limit was 20.
• Public events cannot collect more than a maximum of 50, where up to 200 are recommended nationally.
• Wearing a mask is recommended on city buses, trains, and light rail.
• Bars and restaurants must carry visitor lists.
• It is re-adjusted for nursing home and hospital visits.
• All companies and institutions are requested to establish a home office within the next ten days.

The measures being introduced now will have an initial duration of ten days, until 18 September.

– If we can stop the infection in the next ten days, that is all that is needed. Anyone planning to be with others in the next few days should reconsider. One should think that now is not the time to be very social, says Valhammer.

– Exponential spread of infection

Health Councilor Beate Husa does not hide the fact that the infection is now at a higher level than what the city has seen since the pandemic began in March.

– What we now bring is a call to all the residents of the city. We need to work together to make an effort. We are seeing an exponential increase in infection in our city, with the highest number of new infections since the pandemic began. Even in March, we didn’t see such high infection rates, Husa says.

The infection has spread in clusters among students at the University of Bergen and the Norwegian School of Management. After the week of sponsorship, NHH had an outbreak with more than 100 people infected.

Now the municipality sees, through its infection tracking, that the corona also spreads to those who are not part of the study settings.

– We know that this will affect everyone, including industries and industries that are already in a difficult situation. We do not do it with a light heart. We see the infection spreading outside of the cluster outbreak, so this is necessary to avoid even more demanding measures in the future, says Valhammer.

Recommend a mask on a bus

– Now we recommend the use of masks in public transport, in those cases in which it is not possible to comply with one meter of distance. We believe that the conditions for this measure have already been met in Bergen, says Valhammer.

This recommendation does not apply to children and medical sanitary napkins are not necessary, says the town hall leader.

Just use a homemade or reusable sanitary napkin.

In these ten days, the current recommendations of the Ministry of the Interior for the municipality will also be set aside.

– Everyone in Bergen Municipality who can have a home office must have a home office. We recommend that all public institutions and private companies do the same, for ten days, says Valhammer.

The measures are listed in a temporary regulation, in consultation with the National Institute of Public Health.