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Over the weekend, the municipality of Askøy recorded 43 corona cases. On Sunday, the municipality met with the State Administrator and the NIPH on the status of the infection.
– We ask the State Administrator to convene all the surrounding municipalities and Bergen to a new meeting at 13, says the mayor of Askøy, Siv Høgtun (Sp), to Dagbladet.
One of the issues raised is whether even more stringent regional measures may be relevant.
However, it was decided that no regulations on measures will be introduced for municipalities, according to Bergens Tidende.
– This is because it is not the spread to the rest of the population that dictates such measures, Morten Storebø, mayor of Austevoll, tells the newspaper.
26 infected: – The main part of the environment of the house of prayer.
– I’m worried
On Saturday 26 new cases of infection were confirmed in Askøy. Høgtun stated that more stringent measures were considered, but that it is continually evaluated based on the infection situation in the coming days.
– We see that this virus spreads incredibly fast, it is much faster than the virus we knew before. Askøy is very close to Bergen and we are concerned that the virus does not know the municipal boundaries, he says.
Ten municipalities, including Bergen, Øygarden, Bjørnafjorden, Vaksdal, Osterøy and Alver, participated in a meeting with the State Administrator, the Norwegian Directorate of Health and the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) at 1 pm, according to Bergens Tidende .
Any regional regulation could mean a tightening in Bergen as well. On Sunday, 16 new infected people were registered in the municipality.
1000 quarantined
During the meeting, Askøy gave information about the infection situation in the municipality. Høgtun says, among other things, that most new cases of infection originate in the environment of the house of prayer.
– We would like to hear how the other municipalities experience the situation in their municipalities and hear the professional advice of the NIPH. We will make an assessment of whether the outbreak is of such a nature if there are reasons to implement measures, Høgtun told Dagbladet before the meeting.
On Friday, the municipality adopted a new regulation with even stricter rules. It has already entered into force. Among other things, a maximum limit of ten people at indoor events and 20 people at outdoor events was introduced.
– We can’t see the effects of the measures yet, so they should work a bit. But at the same time, we must see if the infection increases and if there are many positive test results in the future, he said.
The regulations for Askøy apply from midnight until March 20 and until April 7.
The municipality has quarantined about 1,000 people, says the mayor. The outbreak has branches in various schools and kindergartens, and the age range among those infected is 11 to 82 years.
You must be vaccinated urgently
– Will line up
Mayor Tom Georg Indrevik (H) in Øygarden, one of the municipalities that participated in the meeting, told Bergens Tidende before the meeting that they would stand up if Askøy needed him.
– We were very supportive of Bergen when they needed it. We now have a good dialogue with Askøy and great sympathy for the situation they are in. So we’ll stand up if Askøy needs it, Indrevik said.
A free church in Øygarden and a house of prayer in Askøy have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Bergeners associated with Christian communities are also infected.
