Here they have the highest infection pressure in the country, now several kindergartens are closed – VG

The Danvik, Austad and Fjell districts in Drammen have by far the highest infection pressure in Norway compared to the districts of Oslo and the rest of the municipalities in the country. On Friday afternoon, 2,400 infections have been registered for every 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days.

In comparison, Haugesund, the Norwegian municipality with the highest infection pressure, has 860 infected per 100,000 inhabitants in the same period. The municipality of Drammen as a whole has an infection pressure of 699.

In this graph you can see the development of the infection in the municipality through the pandemic:

Now Drammen closes all kindergartens in the Fjell school district. Drammens Tidende mentioned the case for the first time.

– We have done analyzes based on zip codes and we see that some areas are four or five times more affected. The difference is very large and the infection pressure on Fjell is greater, says Drammen’s chief physician, John David Johannessen.

More than 1 in 40 in this school district has been infected with corona in the past two weeks. The infection is not evenly distributed and it is mainly cohorts and families that become infected. However, the municipality found it necessary to close the kindergartens to stop the chains of infection, which according to Johannessen are found almost everywhere in the district.

Red level

In November and December, the municipality of Drammen had a large wave of infections. At that time, kindergartens were at a yellow level for the entire period, but with the English mutant, that has changed.

– Kindergartens have practiced the red level of action recently, but now, unfortunately, a drastic step was needed to protect employees, children and parents. Now we are closing to reduce contact points and meeting places, says Johannessen.

– Have you considered tightening up the rules and routines in kindergarten before moving on to this step?

– Several rules have already been used and the additional effect they have is limited. This is also a graduated measure. The kindergartens are still open for children with special needs and for children with parents in socially critical jobs, says Johannessen.

Mobility between districts is great according to the municipal superior.

– There is a high degree of mobility to reach some schools and jobs, plus there are no special stores in this district, but it has been reduced at level 5A. Mobility in the wider society has done a lot, but we don’t think the kindergarten closure has anything meaningful to say about mobility, says Johannessen.

– Does this closure have something to do with the Easter holidays, that is, to prevent employees or children from being quarantined during the holidays?

– It has not been part of the evaluation. So we should have done it at another time, and not next week.

New infection control guides

As of April 12, kindergartens and schools have new infection control guides that will be even better adapted to the situation we find ourselves in with newer and more infectious virus variants and updated with new knowledge about infection in children. It remains a goal that children can be in kindergarten and school, even in the case of high infection pressure.

In the guidelines, therefore, it is mainly updated how to have even better infection control at the red level without having to close it.

According to the plan, the kindergartens will reopen after Easter, with a red level of measures.