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MAJOR INFECTION: Infection has exploded in Lillehammer in recent days. Photo: Geir Olsen
Just before Christmas, the municipality of Lillehammer is in the middle of the largest eruption they have ever had.
After several months with low infection rates, it has skyrocketed in the municipality in the last week.
Since December 9, 68 cases of infection have been registered. 27 of them were confirmed on Monday.
Most of the new cases were already in quarantine when they were registered as infected, and many of them are related to an outbreak at Lillehammer upper secondary school, according to the municipality.
– The outbreak is developing rapidly and carries a certain risk of spread, says municipal chief physician Morten Bergkåsa.
Infection in various schools
– As of now, there are about 600 people in quarantine, but it will increase tonight after the detection of the infection, says communications manager Kjersti Morset to VG.
Many of those infected are local school students. Homeschooling has already been introduced in two schools due to understaffing, he says.
– Various measures are being considered on an ongoing basis. Currently, schools are not closed for health reasons. We have four days left before they go on vacation, but tomorrow it will be reconsidered, Morset says.
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Demanding situation
– It is very demanding. We have infections in three of the nine schools and we have 17 students in grades 1 through 9 who have been shown to be infected. 400 students and 70 teachers are in quarantine and two staff members are infected.
This is what Township School Principal Trond Johnsen tells VG. It has not yet been decided to close the schools, it is up to the health authorities to consider it, he explains.
– As a school principal, my role is to evaluate strong operations, and when there is critically low staffing with 70 quarantined employees and some who are at home because they are sick, then we need to introduce in-home training, he says.
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He will take the Christmas holidays earlier to celebrate safely with grandparents.
As early as November, the Lillehammer municipality intervened to adjust the school’s route. Instead of having the last school day before Christmas on Tuesday, December 22, they have the last day on December 18.
The director is happy about that today.
– You then have an extra four days to find out if you are sick and possibly get tested before reuniting with loved ones at Christmas.
Johnsen says that starting tomorrow there will be two schools where there will be widespread use of homeschooling, but that they are trying to shield the elementary school.
– It is especially the younger students who must be in school, and for those who are educated at home, we have an offer so that parents who must have them in school to go to work can. We track vulnerable students in particular, he adds.
