Coronary heart disease or coronary heart disease? Thousands blow in the agreed time for virus tests.

4,500 people did not attend the crowning test agreed in Oslo. In recent weeks, half of the testing capacity in the capital was not used.

Before the summer, you were lucky if you passed an exam.

Those who were prioritized were mostly people with jobs in the health system or socially critical institutions. In August, the people of Oslo had to wait more than a week to be allowed to test.

In recent weeks this has changed. Now Oslo can test more than 2000 people daily. But as capacity increases, more and more people are bluffing in meetings.

– When people don’t show up for class, we sit here with time out, says Mariann Engvik. She runs the Bryn Test Center, which has been located in the former Bryn Fire Station in Tvetenveien.

If Oslo reaches a new infection peak, this can have critical and unfortunate consequences.

– They record the time we could use to test another person, says Engvik.

Why can’t they be tested?

4,461 people did not show up as agreed from August 24 to October 1. It shows figures that Aftenposten has received from the municipality of Oslo.

• 3,543 of those who did not show up originally had an appointment at a public testing station. The rest, 918 people, had classes at a private test station.
• The tests are done in public and private tests, in emergency rooms and nursing homes. Over five weeks this fall, 66,693 people were tested in Oslo.
• This means that 6.7 percent of those who were to be tested did not show up. The proportion not showing up is increasing. This is demonstrated by the internal crown reports of the municipality.

This despite the municipality having its own online solution where it is easy to cancel trial lessons.

– We asked why they didn’t come, says Envik at Bryn’s testing center.

– The answers are that the time does not fit, they have been tried elsewhere, they have recovered or they have forgotten to cancel.

– Has it nothing to do with the fear of being infected and the consequences it has to do with it?

– At least that’s not what they convey to us. We think more people would have turned up if you could choose the time for the test yourself. Today the municipality assigns you an hour, he explains.

The test capacity is not used

Between September 11 and 24, about 40 percent of the total testing capacity in Oslo was not used.

This is not just because more people are not showing up as agreed.

Fewer people in Oslo have chosen to get tested than the health authorities expected.

– We recommend that all people with symptoms get tested. We have the ability to do that, says Councilor Raymond Johansen (Labor).

– What do you think of the fact that so many do not appear for the test?

– It is demanding. This makes the queues bigger and more confusing. So I really recommend that those who say they want to get tested go and get tested, or cancel, says Johansen.

This is happening at the same time that laboratories are complaining about the explosiveness.

A crucial week for Oslo

This week will be of great importance to know if the capital introduces even more stringent measures.

– Many may have been in cramped cabins during fall break. So we are very excited about the development, said City Councilor Raymond Johansen last week.

During the autumn holidays, an open conflict arose between the health minister and the city council leader over the measures.

In the wake of the crown dispute, Oslo introduced a mandate for bandages in case of congestion on trams, buses and trains. Most of the neighboring municipalities have done the same.

But several of the measures that Høie and the health authorities wanted were roundly rejected in Oslo. This included the proposal by FHI and the Norwegian Health Directorate to ban private gatherings in Oslo for more than five people and to close nightclubs for new guests after kl. 22.

– Some of what we get from health authorities is opinion, said Councilman Raymond Johansen.

Høie now says that he sees the measures in Oslo as good.

– It is too early to say whether the package of measures is sufficient or not. We need a few more days to see the effect, says Health Minister Bent Høie (H).

How is the infection in Oslo?

On Monday, various outlets, especially NRK and NTB, reported an increase in infection from Sunday to Monday. That says little.

Infection rates almost always increase on Mondays. The reason is that fewer people are tested on the weekend or during the holidays.

• The infection in Oslo began to increase in August. Then came a sharp jump from week 32. Then the number of newly infected increased from about 100 to 209.
• Since September 1, 1,127 people from Oslo have been diagnosed with the virus. Oslo now accounts for around 40 percent of all new infections in Norway.
• On the other hand, growth has stabilized in the last two weeks. Last week, 297 were registered as infected, compared with 310 the previous week.

But last week it was fall break. Therefore, the next few days will be important.

This is how infection occurs in Oslo

The infection in Oslo occurs in several small groups scattered in each district. There are no major single shoots.

• Infection since August is highest in Old Oslo, Alna, Grünerløkka and Frogner. But relative to population, the virus has spread more in Alna, Grorud and Stovner since the summer.
• 60 percent of those infected are between 20 and 39 years old. Among the oldest and most vulnerable groups, infection is low. Therefore, the number of hospitals remains low.
• For 13.6 percent of those infected in Norway in recent weeks, the estimated site of infection is unknown, according to FHI. You have no idea where they are infected.

– Is it enough that the growth of the infection has stabilized in Oslo?

– No. I think the level of infection in Oslo is too high, says Health Minister Bent Høie.

– An excessive proportion of those who test positive cannot be traced to the origin. This means that there is too high a level of infection in society.

– We don’t need any more rules

Oslo City Health Council Robert Steen, on the other hand, believes that no further measures are necessary as long as Oslo is in control.

– What needs to happen for Oslo to introduce new and stricter measures?

– Now we have almost no infection in risk groups. There is no infection in nursing homes and very little infection among the elderly, Steen tells Aftenposten.

It points out that the infection occurs among young people in their 20s and 30s. They do not overburden hospitals or the health service.

– Then the situation is perceived as controlled. What we are concerned about is whether the infection should infiltrate other groups, says Steen.

– As I read the situation, the biggest challenge in Oslo is getting young people to regain the ‘meter’n’. We don’t need any more rules. We don’t want to end up where Madrid, Paris and Newcastle are now, says Steen.

It warns of serious measures quickly if the infection in Oslo spreads to risk groups.

– We have a list of measurements. But the most important tool we see now is social distancing. If we see an increase in infection in any of the risk groups, we must take serious action quickly, Steen says.