May be relevant with joint measures – VG

On Monday at 12.00, all the municipalities of Oslo and Viken will meet with the State Administrator.

Valgerd Svarstad Haugland, state administrator in Oslo and Viken, tells VG that he will not go into the measures that are on the table before the meeting.

– The main objective of the meeting is to achieve an understanding between the municipalities of Oslo and Viken that we must make a joint effort to reduce the number R. The increase in infection is too strong day by day and we must make a concerted effort to reduce it , He says.

– In fact, we had summoned the municipalities for a meeting for tomorrow, but you have accelerated the meeting until today. We have also had meetings with the Norwegian Health Directorate and the National Institute of Public Health this weekend.

Relevant with partially regional measures

In Oslo, 3,300 people have been diagnosed with the infection in the last 14 days, according to figures from the municipality itself. This amounts to 473 people per 100,000 inhabitants, and the municipality has notified strict measures.

Several municipalities in Viken also have high infection rates, including Lillestrøm, Drammen, and Lørenskog.

– Will it be relevant that parts of Oslo and Viken introduce joint measures?

– It may be relevant, but we have to get back to that, says Haugland.

– What do you think of the fact that there may be measures also in the municipalities of Viken that have little infection?

– Many are municipalities of cabins, so they may want measures now, but it will be interesting to hear what they say at the meeting, he says.

Supports regional measures

Eyvind Jørgensen Schumacher (Labor Party), Mayor of Ullensaker Township, writes in a text message to VG that he is positive about the regional leadership.

– We are a region with high mobility of both people and viruses. I think the entire region should be at action level 5A, writes Schumacher, referring to the government action level in case of local outbreaks.

Ragnhild Bergheim, Mayor of Lørenskog, also says she wants regional measures:

– We at Lørenskog support a national regulation at the regional level. Obtaining the same measures that are applied in all the municipalities of the region will make it easier for residents to know the rules that apply. It’s also easier to quickly implement new measures across the region when needed, he says.

– We also face a common challenge both in terms of capacity in the laboratories that will analyze the tests we present and in hospital admissions, which means that we must look beyond our own municipality.

Mayor Jørgen Vik (Labor Party) in Lillestrøm Municipality is positive.

– I support regional measures in a very worrying situation. Lillestrøm is already at level 5A, write in an SMS to VG.

Pending municipalities

The mayor of the municipality of Lier, Gunn Cecilie Ringdal (H) is also among the mayors of the municipalities of Viken who were urgently summoned to the State Administrator on Monday. She is not familiar with the topic of the meeting, but says before the meeting:

– However, the situation with high infection rates means that we are prepared to make quick decisions. In Lier, we have two schools on the red level, Hallingstad and Hegg, but I am not yet aware that evaluations on the red level are being carried out for several schools in our municipality.

VG has reached out to other mayors ahead of Monday’s emergency meeting.

– We are now awaiting the meeting with the State Administrator today, Lisbeth Hammer Krog (H), mayor of the municipality of Bærum, answering the question whether the municipality wants regional measures.

Mayor Monica Myrvold Berg (Labor Party) in Drammen Township tells VG before the meeting that she does not know the content and therefore cannot comment.