– Better late than never – NRK Norway – Summary of news from different parts of the country

A group of experts has proposed a total of 29 measures to reduce infection among immigrants, writes the Ministry of Education in a press release.

– It is good that new measures are now arriving. A little late, but better late than never, says Osama Shaheen in Bergen to NRK.

It says that several requested information on, among other things, Ramadan in the crown period. Along with three others, he has published the first Norwegian-Arabic magazine “DER”, with focus and information on the crown, which was published this December.

He is also behind the GetInformed.no website, which aims to publish good information in multiple languages.

– We often talk about Arabs, or immigrants, but not with them. At the beginning of the pandemic, there was very bad information, says Shaheen.

– Hard to follow

In the same city, Fancine Mbanza Jensen has also learned that information via text does not always arrive. He has published comics in various languages ​​with a crown theme.

Mbanza Jensen believes that it is important that there is more and better information in other languages.

– I know many who do not have Norwegian as their mother tongue and who find it difficult to follow what is happening during the corona pandemic. Even those who speak Norwegian well have a hard time finding information, he says.

– It must involve everyone

Libe Rieber Mohn is the leader of the group of experts that has proposed the new measures.

If we want to be successful in fighting the pandemic, we depend on the participation of the entire population. Today, there are some immigrant groups that are heavily overrepresented both in infection statistics and in the proportion admitted to hospital, he says.

– Why is this being implemented now, three-quarters of a year after the pandemic?

– We implemented a number of measures, and the Norwegian authorities have also been very advanced in implementing various measures. But it has proven insufficient, he says.

Several of the new measures aim to inform and adapt the information to different groups.

34 percent of recorded corona infections were born outside of Norway, including migrant workers, NRK recently wrote.

The highest level of infection has occurred among people born in Somalia, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Eritrea. The infection among those in Eritrea, Somalia and Turkey has decreased significantly in the last week.

Will enlarge the crown phone

Health Minister Bent Høie says that all groups in society must participate to prevent the spread of infection.

– We will therefore follow up on the expert group’s proposal and expand the current corona phone to cover the largest minority languages, he says.

The Expert Committee proposes that the current crown telephone be expanded to include Norway’s largest minority languages.

The pressure of infection in the capital is highest in the Grorud district. Here, the infection tracking team has been especially strong in the last month.

– The language has been strengthened based on need in the district, says district director Ayub M. Tughra.

In addition to English, the staff speak Vietnamese, Polish, Urdu, Somali, Spanish, and Czech. Two employees also understand Arabic and Russian.

I want attitude campaign

Yasir Ahmed is the information officer for the Islamic Council of Norway. He expressed concern about the ability to implement the measures taken by the government.

– I don’t see a time horizon on how the measures will be implemented. Who should do what and how should it be done?

Ahmed believes that the government must ensure that it does not confuse people with too much information. He points out that people know what to do, but what matters is attitude.

– People have not understood why they should test themselves. Many people think that they are not concerned because they are not infected, or that it is necessary because they feel healthy.

Great social pressure

When the proportion of infected and hospitalized is much higher among immigrants, more must be done to reach the relevant groups. This is what the Minister of Education and Integration, Guri Melby says.

– This applies both to information about infection control rules and how it is practically possible to follow them.

There is a lot of pressure to join the main social activities, despite the advice and rules on infection control, according to the expert group.

Rieber Mohn says they suggest that targeted campaign implementation work be strengthened and that social pressure be thematic.

– For example, you can consider a campaign titled “say no,” he says.

The group was established in mid-November. He was tasked with evaluating existing measures and proposing new ones.

The committee believes that the current crown telephone should be expanded to include Norway’s largest minority languages. They also believe that a multilingual national team should be established to track infections. This must have knowledge of immigration health.