[ad_1]
On Sunday, both Health Minister Bent Høie and Health Director Bjørn Guldvog addressed the media and made an urgent appeal for the Oslo City Council to press the alarm button and further toughen measures for residents of the capital.
Guldvog told Dagbladet that he “is looking forward to it” and hopes Councilman Raymond Johansen will take action.
– There are no action plans on Monday.
On Friday night, the health authorities sent a 14-day package of measures to Oslo, with several points. Among other things, it was proposed to reduce the number of people who can meet in public and private and to impose home offices for those who can. However, after a town hall meeting on Saturday, it was decided to wait.
On Sunday, Høie told Aftenposten that he was “very concerned” and that if Oslo does not take action now, the government can override the city council and introduce the measures.
He repeated the message at the government press conference on Monday afternoon.
– I hope that the municipality will follow the advice of the health authorities, said Høie.
see more
Unknown infection
Høie points out, among other things, that a large proportion of those infected have an unknown route of infection.
“I have good contact with Raymond Johansen and I conveyed my concern directly to him,” Høie said.
However, the city council leader said no later than Sunday night that he thought it was too early with new measures for Oslo.
– We have no plans to introduce new measures tomorrow. Now we introduced measures last Monday, and we need to see if they work first, Johansen told Dagbladet Sunday night.
He noted, among other things, that this is not the right time, because many people from Oslo are away during the autumn holidays. In addition, she noted that many are already tired of acting.
– We are concerned that the measures we propose are understood and that they are adequate and correct, said Johansen.
– We must have some time to see that the measures we have introduced work. We see that infection rates have decreased a bit, but we are prepared to introduce more measures if necessary.
Alert action
On Monday, however, the pipe may have had a different sound, and the Oslo City Council has announced a briefing on the status of the crown, as well as new measures, at 6pm.
Høie also fears that the Oslo infection will spread to other municipalities and has called a crisis meeting on possible measures as early as Monday night. Oslo has 680,000 inhabitants. In total, the municipalities Høie mentions 1.3 million inhabitants. Therefore, the new infection control measures may include approximately one in four Norwegians.
Both Guldvog and Høie believe that there is a risk that Oslo will lose control of the infection situation, and that it is better to be careful and introduce more measures.
Alto will get vaccinated now
– There is considerable uncertainty associated with the infection situation in Oslo. Therefore, we believe that it is preferable to respond with clear measures from the beginning, than to wait and see how it goes. There is a certain risk that we will lose control, and then it is much more demanding to reduce the number of infections, Guldvog said Sunday.
Guldvog also noted that the spread of the infection in Oslo is now the most important driver of the epidemic in Norway, and that the epicenter of the capital is also the situation in the rest of Europe.
– It is therefore important that Norway also takes measures to prevent the infection from spreading from Oslo to the rest of the country.
These are the measures that the Norwegian Health Directorate and the NIPH recommend for Oslo:
- Prohibition of private meetings of more than five people. This will not apply to people who live in the same household. Today, private gatherings of more than ten people in Oslo are prohibited.
- That admission to the nightclubs will stop at 10pm.
- Intensified control of restaurants, to ensure compliance with infection control advice, among other aspects in terms of distance inside and queuing outside.
- Banning of events in secondary schools and universities that are not related to teaching.
- Order for the home office for everyone who can.
- Strengthen compliance with the use of face masks on public transport to and from Oslo.
