Oslo City Council toughens measures – VG

– Today I feel a great responsibility to coordinate the state and the capital. A conflict between Oslo and the state will weaken people’s trust in politicians, authorities and the subsequent handling of the pandemic, Oslo City Councilor Raymond Johansen said at Monday’s press conference for the night.

– That is why the city council has decided that we introduce new measures now.

Here are the measurements:

• Oslo introduces a temporary ban on indoor events with more than 50 participants without permanent seats.
• Requests for the use of masks in public transport are also being introduced now that it is not possible to maintain a distance of one meter.
• Guest registration will also be required in restaurants.
• Introduces the use of face masks in home nursing where distance cannot be maintained.

The measures initially last until October 13, after which the city council will make a new assessment.

– When it is not possible to maintain a distance of one meter, travelers must wear a mask. This means everyone must wear a mask on board, says Johansen.

This weekend, there was a full agreement between the government and the Oslo city hall on whether stricter measures should be introduced in the capital. The Minister of Health declared today during the government press conference that he expected the municipality to introduce the measures tonight.

– Threatened with introducing measures

– We have been criticized for being too strict, many times even that the fists seem to work. Last week 333 people were infected, growth has stopped. However, Oslo has come under heavy pressure from the Norwegian Health Directorate and Høie, says Johansen.

On Friday, the city of Oslo received a memorandum with proposals for new measures from the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) and the Norwegian Directorate of Health. The memorandum proposes, among other things, a ban on private events with more than five people and an order for bandages.

The city council met on Saturday, but did not present the new recommended measures.

– These are measures that we have already considered, but which we thought were too early to introduce. We wanted to see the effect of the measures we had implemented, and the autumn holidays make congestion in Oslo already less, continues the leader of the city council.

– The Minister of Health has even threatened to introduce measures. It amazes me, says Johansen.

Health Minister Bent Høie announced on Sunday that he was prepared to make national decisions if the city council did not follow the advice of the Norwegian Health Directorate on stricter measures. But during today’s press conference, I expected this.

– I think the Minister of Health went too far, I think he is reckless. I think it benefits us enormously to trust each other and take the necessary action, says Johansen.

The Governor of the County of Oslo and Viken met today with all the municipalities of the region of the labor market and housing. It was discussed whether stricter measures should also be introduced in these municipalities around Oslo. A new meeting between the municipalities and the Ministry of Health and Welfare Services will take place at 8:00 p.m. tonight.

Drops several recommended measures

– I hope that the national authorities continue to trust that we know our citizens better, says the leader of the city council.

The City Council will not follow the recommendation of the Norwegian Health Directorate to limit the gathering of more than five people in private homes.

– We will have a very high threshold to intervene more in people’s homes.

These are the measures recommended by the Norwegian Health Directorate:

• Maximum number of private meetings: 5 people (the members of the household can be several).
• Max. number of people in events: 50.
• Ordinance on the use of a home office “for all who can” of the employer Oslo Municipality (Norwegian Health Directorate encourages state actors to do the same).
• Banning of events in universities and upper secondary schools that are not related to teaching.
• Strengthen compliance with the use of face masks on public transport to and from Oslo.
• Intensified control of restaurants, including sufficient distance between customers both inside and in the admission queue.
• Stop at nightclub admission at 22.

The Oslo City Council has also chosen not to follow recommendations for nightclub admission to close at 10pm and a ban on events in upper secondary schools and universities that are not related to teaching.

– I am afraid that shorter opening hours will lead to more house parties. In nightclubs, there is better control of infection control, says Johansen.

– If we want to continue to be successful, keep the infection low, we must earn the trust of the people. We must show that we are introducing only the measures that are necessary.

– Our assessment is that all the measures do not fit well with the situation in which we find ourselves, says the health adviser in Oslo, Robert Steen.

The City Council feared introducing measures that Oslo residents did not understand why and that could be perceived as unbalanced and unfair, Steen says.

– So you challenge the relationship of trust between people, and we need the trust that we have between citizens and authorities, because this is a race that will have to last many weeks and months.

– The national authorities have their point of view, the Infection Control Law belongs to the municipalities, and then I think it makes sense to do so. We know better where the shoe hits, says Steen.

Frustrated

This weekend, the Oslo City Council warned that stricter measures would be taken if the infection did not subside.

The city council leader was frustrated that people are still so close to each other.

– I am still concerned that there is too much contact between the people of Oslo. We must understand that when we make a strong call to wear face masks in places where it is not possible to maintain a distance of one meter, we mean it, Johansen told VG on Saturday.

– Do you sound a little frustrated?

– If that is. We get numbers, some are good. The number of people now signing up for nightclubs is increasing. I’m very happy with that. But what we see and experience with public transport, for example, is not good enough.

– People just have to understand all the way that if infection rates don’t go down, there will be tougher measures. I understand that people are tired of the measures, but there is no vaccine yet. Infection rates aren’t dangerous, but we’re not saying this here for fun, Johansen said.