Coronavirus – FHI investigates bingo infection

20 people have been confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus after a musical bingo event at Bakgården Sammen Og nightclub in Kristiansand. This was announced by Fædrelandsvennen on Tuesday evening.

It was on Monday that the Kristiansand Township asked everyone who had been at the event on December 28 to contact the Township’s Crown Center. Of the roughly 150 people who were present, more than 100 have already been tested, the newspaper writes.

The municipality is now sending samples to the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) to investigate whether it may be a mutated variant of the coronavirus. He tells Kristiansands the municipal chief physician Styrk Fjærtoft Vik a Dagbladet

FHI: three main theories

Samples sent to FHI

– Kristiansand has had very low infection rates so far. We have been in a very good position in relation to both our own region and the country in general, says Fjærtoft Vik to Dagbladet.

The outbreak at bingo is the first outbreak associated with a restaurant in Kristiansand, he says.

– We have seen it in many other places in the country, so it is not surprising that it can also happen here in the city. In this bingo event, a total of 150 people passed by during one night. So far, we have detected infection in 20 people. In our context, there are a relatively large number.

The municipality has been in contact with the NIPH and has agreed that some of the positive tests will be turned over to the department for genetic sequencing. The purpose is to determine if it may be a mutated variant of the coronavirus.

Gene sequencing is done to see if it is an altered virus. This is also part of an overall national monitoring. A selection of all positive tests goes to FHI for gene sequencing, he says, adding:

– Also early in the pandemic, we have seen that there can be a large spread in nightclubs in unfortunate circumstances.

Examine deaths among those vaccinated

Invitation to guests to bingo

All sample material has been made available to FHI, says Vik.

– At the same time, we are not aware that any of the participants in the event have been to the UK or in any other way have had contact with people who indicate it is a mutated virus. But after discussing it with FHI, we agree that there is a basis to examine some of this evidence, for security reasons.

If FHI detects a mutated variant of the virus, it will not affect how the municipality handles the outbreak, according to Vik.

– Basically, the way we handle these viruses and the spread of them is the same, regardless of whether it is the variant we know of or a new mutated version.

The municipal superintendent has a clear call:

– Since we have not had a complete record of everyone who was present at this event, we will encourage everyone who visited the bingo on December 28 to contact the corona center in Kristiansand, so that we can make sure everyone are screened and quarantined.

For Fædrelandsvennen, Vik says that there may still be more infected people, all the time they are still waiting for some test results.

– An unexpectedly strong spread of infection has occurred in this event.

To Dagbladet, he tells that the municipality hopes to have all the test results by Wednesday.

So far, British health authorities have estimated that the English variant of the coronavirus may be up to 70 percent more contagious than the one that first caused the pandemic. However, there is no evidence that it causes a more serious illness.

So far, a total of 23 cases of the British mutation and one case of the South African have been detected in Norway.

Check if the virus is more contagious

– unlucky

Mayor Jan Oddvar Skisland (Labor Party) in Kristiansand says the incident is still being tracked for infections.

– Many resources have been invested in infection detection. What was unfortunate, and perhaps a bit coincidental, was that it took some time before infection from this event was confirmed. As far as we know so far, no one had symptoms of those who transmitted the infection, but one had symptoms the next day, he tells Dagbladet.

So far, the city has had a couple of infections a day, he says.

– We have been the only one of the largest cities that has not had outbreaks, so we were afraid that it would reach us too. But we were hoping to fall, of course.

Corona infection detected in Olavsgaard

– Test

According to the latest national government tightening, events of this type will not be organized in the coming weeks, says Skisland. Kristiansand does not introduce further local measures in the wake of the incident.

– We have always followed national recommendations. We are determined to do the same. We have had a good control of the infection tracking and we have spent a lot of resources on it. Now it is put in a slightly different kind of test, when there are so many infected. But this is a very high priority now. All close contacts are tracked.

It was the municipality that, at the request of the disco, organized the participation of more than 50 people in the event, writes Fædrelandsvennen. This was carried out on the condition that the guests were distributed over 28 tables in several different areas of the room in question.