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ON TOUR IN NORWAY: Almost all the tourists who participated in the trip with Ingvar’s trips were infected. Photo: Ingvar’s Travels
Five local outbreaks are now linked to the bus trip of retirees in southern Norway in September. At the same time, FHI expects more cases of infection to appear.
Writes the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) in its recent risk assessment.
On board the bus were retirees from Rogaland. Of the 40 passengers, only three did not test positive for COVID-19.
The bus trip, which began on September 15, lasted six days. It included 14 stops in a total of eight counties; Rogaland, Agder, Telemark, Viken, Innlandet, Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal and Vestland.
A week ago, FHI linked more than 50 cases of infection to the trip. Now there are about 100 cases.
– Passengers on your journey have likely led to local outbreaks in Lillehammer, Røros, Dombås, Førde and Norheimsund. Additional infection from these outbreaks has occurred in Askvoll, Molde and Kristiansund, writes FHI in Risk Assessment.
At the same time, they note that the investigation of the outbreaks is still ongoing. Therefore, more cases are expected to be linked to bus travel.
FHI assists in the investigation and collects virus samples from laboratories in order to determine whether patients are linked to the outbreak or not.
Astri Meland, VG commentator on the bus ride: Why were so many people infected on this bus?
VG spoke after the outbreak with the couple behind the bus company that organized the bus trip. They said, among other things, that they were very affected by the incident.
At the same time, they said that the bus’s ventilation system was rebuilt due to the corona virus, and that the passengers had to be spread out unless they were a couple. There were also bandages, rubbing alcohol, and gloves available to everyone on the bus.
The municipal chief doctor Hans Petter Torvik in Sandnes also made it clear that the bus company related to the industry standard for infection control rules.
You must prepare for more local shoots
Last week, 797 new cases of covid-19 were reported in Norway, compared to between 717 and 786 in the previous three weeks.
Although the risk of local and regional outbreaks is considered moderate, FHI warns of a high risk of local outbreaks.
The assessment is valid for the next four weeks, that is, from weeks 42 to 45.
– The whole community should prepare to combat local outbreaks during the fall. To prevent regional and national spread of the infection, the National Institute of Public Health recommends that current measures be continued mainly, especially to avoid incidents of mass infection, writes FHI in its pages.
In the last two to three weeks, many municipalities have experienced local outbreaks in which the national infection detection team helps:
- In Oslo, where the around 300 new cases each week are largely related to meetings
- In Drammen and Lier, 20 cases of infection are related to an outbreak in a factory
- 60 cases in September and October are linked to three private parties in Arendal and Froland
- A private event and then dissemination in school and kindergarten accounts for about 40 cases in Øygarden
- In Trysil, a dozen cases and one death are related to home services
- More than 90 cases are linked to a shipyard in Hyllestad
- After a company in Ørland, the municipality has registered more than ten positive cases
