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– Infection rates in Bergen have increased dramatically in the last two weeks. Most of those infected have associated with the student community, Councilor Roger Valhammer (Labor Party) said at a news conference Tuesday night.
Bergen is now experiencing the largest increase in infections since the pandemic began. On Wednesday, a total of 1,048 people were diagnosed with infection in Bergen since the start of the corona outbreak.
Much of the blame for the recent serious development has taken Bergen students. This makes the leader of the UiB Student Parliament react.
Infection in Bergen: – Very high number
– Surprised by the rhetoric
– Last Monday, only the student parties were mentioned as a reason during the press conference of the municipalities on the outbreak. Then we were quite surprised by the rhetoric, says Sandra Amalie Lid Krumsvik to Dagbladet.
She is the leader of the UiB Student Parliament and therefore represents the 19,000 students at the University.
– Fortunately, this week has changed. Now we are more satisfied both with the rhetoric and with the measures implemented by the municipality. We think it is good to see that the municipality is now taking responsibility, adds Krumsvik.
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It was towards the end of August that several cases of infection were first reported in NHH. Since then, the infection has also been detected at the University College of Western Norway, the University of Bergen, and BI Norwegian Business School.
Over the past weekend, the infection has spread to various parts of the Bergen community, the municipality acknowledged Monday. Now they have recorded individual cases in nightclubs and restaurants, upper secondary schools, hospitals and nursing homes.
Among other things, ten Haukeland Hospital employees were confirmed to be infected, and Helse Bergen stated in a press release on Wednesday that seven new employees tested positive for the coronavirus.
– Don’t travel to Bergen
– Bergen has had a large increase in the number of infected in the last month. At first, the increase was primarily related to student environments. It has been important to provide good and accurate information about the corona outbreak to Bergen residents, so the municipality has reported that the infection has spread primarily on a student basis. It would be very problematic to refrain from telling such information, as it is useful for locals to know about it and is relevant in the work of limiting infection, writes Bergen health adviser Beate Husa (KrF) in an email to Dagbladet.
– Are the students to blame for the outbreak?
– There is no one who benefits from us blaming him. What we do know is that the outbreak initially spread to the student community. Many students have followed the infection control rules well and this has helped limit further infection.
– Do you understand that students feel like scapegoats?
– There is no reason for all students to feel like scapegoats, as many have been good at upholding infection control rules, Husa continues.
Focus on sponsorship events
Krumsvik says that the rhetoric already in the lead up to the sponsoring events put a lot of pressure on the students.
– There was a great focus on the concern about the student parties in the national press conferences prior to the start of the studies, and the local authorities followed suit. It put a clear brake on the mood among the students. Again, this meant that online trolls in comment fields got water at the mill, and when the infection boom in Bergen was a done deal, we sat down like scapegoats. But therefore the man in the street is wrong to say that the sponsor’s week is the big scapegoat.
Considering new measures
From sponsorship week to Aug. 29, there was actually less infection among Bergen students than the city’s population as a whole, Krumsvik says.
In a discussion post in BA, the directors of UiB, HVL and NHH also write that the infection recorded among students in this period was 0.14%, which was clearly lower than in the general population of Bergen, in a 0.27%.
– The trend of infection among Bergen students has also decreased further. Much of the infection can now be traced to nightclubs and Bergen Health. Of course, it’s hard to say exactly where it’s coming from, but at least it’s hard to directly track down students, Krumsvik tells Dagbladet.
The Board of Health writes to Dagbladet that it does not know the basis of the calculations used here by the three principals and the leader of the student parliament.
– We know that there were mainly outbreaks among students, as well as some young adults associated with student parties, leading to high infection rates in Bergen through August. We now see in recent days that a proportion of infected people are also registered outside of the student outbreak, Husa writes in the email.
Take your share of the blame
In order to control what the health council calls an exponential increase in the number of infection cases in Bergen, the municipality has introduced new measures:
In the first instance, private gatherings of more than ten people will be prohibited until September 18, instead of 20. Public events with more than 50 people will also be prohibited, instead of 200. There are also requirements for nightclubs , bars and restaurants must maintain visitor lists. At the same time, visiting rules in hospitals and health organizations are tightening.
On Tuesday, both the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) and the European Infection Control Agency (ECDC) declared that Norway has registered more than 20 infected per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days. Therefore, the infection pressure in Norway is above the limit by the time FHI recommends red-listing other countries and regions.
The increased infection pressure is mainly due to local outbreaks in Bergen, Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad.
Increased infection: “It’s not a game”
Krumsvik emphasizes that students will naturally also have their share of the blame for the outbreak in Bergen. As long as they are treated like the rest of the population, they should not abdicate responsibility at all, he says.
– We follow the infection control advice like everyone else and comply with current regulations. Then there will always be some individuals who destroy for others, but most of us experience that they do everything possible to avoid infection, concludes Krumsvik.
