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CORONATEST: Municipalities challenge national councils and ask students to test themselves before Christmas. Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP
Several municipalities encourage students to get tested before Christmas, despite the fact that it goes against the advice of the health authorities. The Oslo Health Council asks students to think and assess whether they really need a corona test.
Health authorities have previously expressed concern about the return of the students to their homes. NIPH previously recommended that people be particularly aware of the possible risk of infection from students who are returning home for Christmas.
In early December, they advised students to test themselves only if they had symptoms. The exception is those who work in the home health sector, who are advised to get tested before the Christmas holidays.
However, many municipalities encourage testing.
also read
Background: These are the tips for students before the Christmas break
– Test yourself!
“Feel free to get tested regardless of whether you have symptoms or not,” writes the Sandefjord Municipality.
“We ask that students and other people who come from areas with high infection pressure get tested when they come to Alta,” the mayor of Alta told Altaposten.
“We encourage all students coming home for Christmas to take a coronation test shortly after returning home and then adhere to the quarantine period until the test response is ready,” writes the Frogn Municipality.
The same applies to the municipality of Åmli. They write that they have “special tips” for those who are going home for Christmas.
“The municipality of Åmli offers tests for visitors on Christmas holidays,” writes the municipality.
The municipality of Molde, on the other hand, writes that they will follow national councils and will not encourage testing without symptoms.
“We are following the national councils now so as not to create confusion by using different words,” says Deputy Municipal Director Britt Rakvåg Roald in Molde to Romsdals Budstikke.
THINK ABOUT: Oslo Health Councilor Robert Steen asks students to consider whether testing is necessary. Photo: Frode Hansen
– Oslo cannot test 70,000 students
Oslo Health Councilor Robert Steen says he understands very well that many municipalities are concerned that students will bring the infection to their municipality of origin.
Still, he asks students to consider whether they need a corona test and not just because they are going home for Christmas.
– The most important thing to prevent infection is not an additional test before traveling, but what you have done to avoid infection, the basic rules of infection. If you are sick or in close contact you should get tested, if you are sick you should not travel, she tells VG.
He says it is not in line with the FHI guidelines for corona testing healthy people.
– It goes without saying that the municipality of Oslo cannot assess the entire student population before they travel home for Christmas, says Steen.
At the same time, he warns against a false negative test, that is, the test is negative, but then it is contagious when you return home for Christmas.
– A test only shows a snapshot. You can become infected and sick after the test, up to ten days after being infected.
Therefore, the health council recommends keeping a good distance in Christmas gatherings – at least one meter – but two meters for those who are exposed.
– So I recommend following the crown rules very well the last period (ten days) before traveling, he concludes.
You can check the infection pressure in Norwegian municipalities in special VG crown here.
Several municipalities have good testing capacity
Several of the municipalities that promote testing, on the other hand, emphasize that they have a good testing capacity and that, therefore, they can evaluate returnees who do not present symptoms.
“For the sake of safety,” writes the municipal director of health, social and welfare in Sandefjord, Bente Østbakken Aasoldsen on the website of the municipality.
The municipality adds that they are happy to evaluate the students themselves.
“Take a test run at our test station as soon as you get home.”
Several other municipalities write the same, to reduce the pressure of testing in large cities that have many cases of infection.
“We recommend that you take a test at our test station as soon as you get home. Feel free to order in advance,” writes the municipality of Ålesund.
A poll TV 2 What it has done shows that 91 percent of municipalities have the capacity to test visitors at Christmas, but only six percent say that it may be relevant to test everyone who comes home.
Here you can see collected and updated information from the government and ministries on measures and advice to the population. For local advice and measurements, see your municipality’s website or VG’s corona overview.
Young people continue to lead the statistics on cases of infection
Last week, there were 273 corona cases among 20-year-olds. This group still tops the statistics, but the gap with the older groups has narrowed after the peak at weeks 45 and 46.
Here you can see the overview of confirmed corona cases sorted by age:
