Banned with more than 20 people at public events – NRK Vestland

103 new people have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease in Bergen in the last 24 hours. It is the highest infection rate in the city during the pandemic.

The Bergen City Council introduces several new infection control measures, valid from night to Saturday:

• More than 20 people are prohibited from participating in public events. Events without fixed seats are prohibited. Exceptions are made for funerals, where 50 people are allowed.
• Restaurants, canteens, cafes, bars and the like must close no later than 10 pm There will be a bar stop at 9:30 pm.
• Broad-based sports and amateur culture for adults over 20 are prohibited.
• Pools, sports halls and gyms must be closed.
• The provision for sports halls and swimming pools does not apply to organized training for children and young people under 20 years of age. Events such as matches and tournaments are not allowed.
• Bingo halls, museums and similar facilities will be closed. The libraries will be closed for activities and stays, but will be open for the delivery and loan of books.
• Stores and shopping malls should make sure that there are no more people in the room than can be kept two meters away.
• There will be a bandage request for both passengers and taxi drivers.

The measures will last just over two weeks until November 23.

It will avoid cracking

The new rules will apply to more than 400,000 residents in Bergen and neighboring municipalities. Municipalities of Alver, Askøy, Bergen, Bjørnafjorden, Osterøy, Samnanger, Vaksdal and Øygarden.

– Now it is about stopping the spread of the infection so that we do not have a large and uncontrolled outbreak. And not least that we do not have a crack in the health service, says Councilor Roger Valhammer (Labor).

He says that the new measure of a maximum of 20 people at public events for very many will mean that they will not be able to have events.

– It is in practice a complete stop for events in our city, because we need people not to meet.

There is coronary heart disease in a total of eight nursing homes in Bergen.

Health Counselor Beate Husa (KrF) now makes a strong recommendation to all family members and asks them not to visit nursing home residents for the next two weeks.

The debt is getting bigger

Aleksander Arnø has several bars in central Bergen, including Tempotempo and Nedre Nygård. Due to the infection situation, on Thursday he decided to close them all for a week.

He believes that the new initiative for nightlife in Bergen means the hook in the door for many. The City Council should be in favor of a general closure and receive compensation, believes Arnø.

– I should have been covered up and taken this out of the world. We can no longer persevere in this.

– To have a store and have restrictions that make it practically impossible to make money, we have been doing it for nine months. The debt is getting bigger and bigger and we are sitting more and more on the shit, as time goes by, says Arnø.

Fourteen Bergen nightclubs close their doors for a week as a result of the infection situation and the consequences of coronary measures, writes Bergens Tidende.

Maximum five people in their own home

On Thursday, the municipality of Bergen called an extraordinary press conference. They presented the following infection control measures:

• A maximum of five people is allowed in their own homes. Exceptions for families with more than five people and cohorts of kindergarten and elementary schools. Previously, the ceiling was for a maximum of ten people.
• Mandatory home office for anyone who can have it. In the past it has been recommended.
• Digital teaching mandate for colleges and universities.
• Introduce the red level and homeschooling in secondary schools starting Monday.
• Close to grassroots sports and leisure activities for adults.

The measures that were presented on Friday are in addition to the previous measures.

– The next few weeks we will have to stay at home. Limit who you know and how many you know. Now is the time to be safe, says Valhammer.

The Norwegian Church cancels all ordinary services in Bergen and seven surrounding municipalities in the next three weeks, the diocese of Bjørgvin reports to NRK. But there will be offers of baptismal ceremonies with up to 20 people, and funerals with up to 50 people.

Conservatives want to shut down bars entirely

While the opposition had previously mainly supported the crown’s measures, conservatives and the People’s Socialist Party are now criticizing the fact that they have not been consulted before.

The leader of the Conservative Party group, Harald V. Hove, also believes that the city council should close bars entirely when gyms close for the first time.

– The situation has shown us that the spread of the infection occurs mainly when we cannot meet the distance requirements. It occurs most often when adults have had a glass or two of beer. Shutting down would have been a more effective measure, Hove tells NRK.