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3 out of 10 Norwegians want to travel to Lofoten this summer, according to a recent poll Norstat conducted for ABC News.
Lofoten’s mayors welcome tourists, and the business community says they depend entirely on good visits from Norwegians to survive the coronary arches.
Local councils are now preparing for the summer.
This is a demanding task, says Jan Håkon Juul from Vågan Municipality, one of the six municipalities that belong to Lofoten.
– We are not prepared for a major outbreak of infection. That’s what it’s about. The glass sphere does not say what kind of impact high mobility will have on the Norwegian population, Juul tells ABC News.
background: 3 out of 10 Norwegians will go to Lofoten this summer
Decreasing infection leads to optimism.
Municipal consultant and infection control doctor in Vågan Municipality, Jan Håkon Juul. Photo: Private
However, the local superior views with great optimism the news from the National Institute of Public Health that the number of R infections in Norway is now below 0.5.
– If the infection decreases as dramatically as it seems, internal travel in Norway will not be a problem. But not many infected people will move around and spread the infection before a local outbreak occurs.
Also read: The number of R infections has been reduced to 0.49.
Lofoten has a hospital with limited intensive capacity and an emergency room. Due to the corona pandemic, the region has established another emergency room, which only handles corona cases.
With increased testing capacity, focus on infection detection, and comprehensive infection prevention guidelines for the tourism industry, city consultants hope to prevent a major disease outbreak this summer.
– We’re working hard to get emergency room doctors and operations ready so she doesn’t become vulnerable this summer. We are usually used to having such a large population increase in the summer that we can handle it. But having a summer with population growth in addition to coronavirus infection is a challenge, Juul says.
News: Denmark Discourages Travel Abroad Throughout May
Uncertainty is the biggest challenge
Several of the temporary workers that Vågan Municipality bases on summer operations are abroad. Juul is not sure if they will come to Norway.
– Also, we have a much higher guard load than we usually do because we run two medical guards instead of one. Then we will have a summer vacation. We run and find out.
– Is it part of the plan to call home doctors for vacation, in the event of an outbreak?
– All my doctors say they won’t travel far. They will be available if something happens. But it is often easier to plan for us to be present all the time. It takes time to get people home. The moment he slips, it is okay to have some preparation, responds the municipal superior in Vågan.
He and the doctors in Lofoten are used to seeing many visitors each summer. Therefore, the main challenge is not the crowd.
– The uncertainty surrounding the infection is the biggest challenge. We can plan to have a lot of people at work, so nothing happens. We must do that. Nor can we avoid planning with high preparation. So the consequences can be much greater than if we do not spend a little extra money to have a high preparation.
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