Must Be Prepared For Wreath Measurements Until Christmas – VG

Bent Høie (H) responded during Friday’s press conference the following to VG’s question about whether it is realistic to believe that infection control measures will be lifted before Christmas:

– When we presented the first national austerity measures, we emphasized that we wanted Christmas to be normal. When we presented the second group of austerity measures, we said the same thing. But the development has now gone in a direction that means that we must be prepared for the fact that there may be measures also during Christmas. It is important that we do not give up too soon to lose control. We have to consider that, he says.

– The March wave occurred because thousands of ski tourists returned home from abroad with the infection. Now we can see an avalanche of people returning home for Christmas and going to live with their families. Have you done a professional risk assessment of letting people go home for Christmas?

– Yes, therefore we now have stricter measures at the borders and require test hotels and quarantine, Høie replies.

He says he shares the concern that many could get infected when they return home for Christmas, but has great faith that we can prevent it.

– Measures can have a great effect, but we depend on them being followed, he says.

On Wednesday, the government changed quarantined hotels for international students. read more here.

At the same time, figures from Telenor show that the measures have led to people in larger cities moving less in society.

On Monday, there was a decrease of almost 50 percent in Oslo. In Bergen it was almost 30 percent.

– The measures that have been implemented seem to lead us to move less. Now we are waiting for the effect on infection rates. But the situation is still uncertain, with the danger of an accelerated increase, says Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H), adding that it is important to take strong measures in areas with a high spread of the infection.

The Prime Minister with a clear message for teens

Solberg also noted that infection is now increasing the most in the 13-19 age group.

– It worries me. It is important for this group to be aware that they can also contribute to infection.

– Although we give priority to young people going to school and participating in leisure activities, they should try to practice distance. I think it is difficult for young people. Particularly among older teens between the ages of 16 and 19, there is a high level of infection and they are beginning to approach adults when it comes to both the risk that someone may have underlying illnesses and that they may get sick, she says.

FHI’s latest weekly report shows that 37 percent of all new infection cases have a country of birth other than Norway. It also has 54 percent of corona patients.

The Prime Minister cautions against individual groups:

– Several have experienced being provoked and accused of spreading the infection. This applies to store employees, Swedish and Polish, among others. That’s not right, she says.

The government announced earlier this week that it will set aside an additional $ 20 million for information work targeting immigrant groups. Solberg recognizes that reaching everyone with the correct information is challenging.

– For this reason, it has been important for us to work with those who are close to spreading the information, he says.

Ropstad: offers for children and young people must not weaken

The Minister for Children and Families, Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (KrF), was also present at the press conference. He emphasizes that the most important thing in the corona pandemic is to take care of life and health.

– Health services for children and young people will not be reduced during this period, he says.

In addition, he believes that it is particularly important to take care of vulnerable groups, which is why the government earlier this week presented a proposal of NOK 160 million to work precisely with these groups.

The money will go towards volunteer and mental health measures.

– There is a report of a growing loneliness among students. The demand for helplines has been consistently high during the pandemic, says Ropstad.

– Too early to be optimistic

Deputy Health Director Espen Nakstad told VG early Friday that he has good faith that regional and national measures will lead to the infection curve flattening out soon, before numbers start to decline.

Solberg believes that the infection figures show that it was correct to introduce the measures.

– We are roughly at the same level as last week, but we see that we may not have as high growth. It’s too early to be optimistic, he says.

At the same time, he notes that other countries, which have introduced very strict measures, are now experiencing that the infection appears to be decreasing slightly. She estimates that we will only begin to see the effect of the last adjustment between 10 and 14 days after the measures take effect.

See the full press conference here: