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The National Institute of Public Health informs Dagbladet that they have reported two threats against their own employees. Health Director Bjørn Guldvog says he has experienced threatening comments.
– I don’t want to say that the threat level has been high with us, but we have also received threats. We have had a dialogue with the police about some of these threats. I don’t think the situation is very different between us and the National Institute of Public Health in that area, health director Guldvog tells Dagbladet.
– Have you experienced threats?
– I received threatening comments on social media. But I have not experienced it as a threat that cannot be handled sensibly.
Death threat
It was Dagens Næringsliv who first mentioned that the National Institute of Public Health reported a death threat since June 12 this year. The case concerned a man who called the switchboard from a hidden number and directed death threats against FHI employees. FHI stated that they understood him as the man expressing dissatisfaction with the department’s travel advice to and from countries in the Nordic region.
FHI told the newspaper that they also reported an incident from February this year, where a person behaved in a threatening manner in an attempt to contact director Camilla Stoltenberg.
Aftenposten was the first to mention that FHI has experienced an increased number of threats during the covid-19 epidemic. The deputy director of the National Institute of Public Health, Gun Peggy Knudsen, also confirms this to Dagbladet.
– We have seen a small increase in inquiries of various kinds, some of which are more threatening than others. Thus, we have now taken the step of reporting two cases to the police that we consider so serious that we would report them.
Security measures
Some FHI employees have participated in various press conferences and frequented the media more often than others. Knudsen confirms that some threats have targeted FHI profiles.
– Some threats have been directed at employees profiled with us, who have participated in press conferences or in the media. Otherwise, we also see that we receive more general threats against the National Institute of Public Health and against the switchboard, without them being people-oriented, says Knudsen.
– Do you want to take steps to take better care of employees?
– We have already focused enough on this and have started some measures to try to remind people of the situation and take precautions related to it.
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Unacceptable
Health Minister Bent Høie is fully aware that threats against employees of the National Institute of Public Health and the Norwegian Health Directorate are completely unacceptable.
– Of course, it is completely unacceptable to threaten public officials because they do important work on behalf of all of us. I am pleased that the Norwegian Health Directorate and the National Institute of Public Health are tracking such cash threats and reporting it to the police. Of course, this is not something anyone should be exposed to, the Health Minister tells Dagbladet.
– Have you experienced a higher level of threat in relation to the epidemic?
– I’m not commenting on my threat level. This is what PST considers at all times, says Høie.
The police security service informs Dagbladet that they do not comment on threats related to certain government officials.
