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– During the outbreak in Hyllestad, there was a lack of a systematic overview of cases and close contacts, writes the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) in a new report.
They have investigated the outbreak at the Havyard shipyard in the tiny municipality of Hyllestad, where a total of 94 people were infected with the coronavirus in September and October. There are just over 1,300 people living in the outer Sogn municipality.
In the report, FHI also notes that:
- Many actors, with an unclear division of responsibilities, led to communication failures and made it difficult to manage outbreaks.
- Small municipalities with larger businesses that use guest workers are particularly vulnerable during major outbreaks.
FHI believes that it has been difficult for the municipality to get an overview of the situation, leading them to not be able to keep a systematic list of all those who were isolated and quarantined.
– An explanation for this may be that an updated list of employees was missing in the yard, writes FHI.
NRK covered the case first.
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Information difficulties
The report also highlights the main challenges with the flow of information to guest workers.
– It was difficult to get information to workers about the reason for the tests, the need for quarantine and isolation, how long it should last and how important it was to comply with them, writes FHI.
The challenges were related to the extent of the outbreak, communication with people of different languages and cultures, and the division of responsibilities for monitoring employees in the yard had not been clarified.
They also believe that communication between neighboring municipalities and regional management was not optimal at any time.
Much to learn
Kjell Eide, Mayor of Hyllestad Township, agrees with much of what appears in the FHI report.
– It was not entirely surprising that such a report came in, and it was a good summary of the situation, Eide tells Dagbladet.
As for emergency preparedness, he says they were not manipulated or prepared for such a situation. The mayor also agrees that they could have been better at communication.
MAYOR: Kjell Hyllestad. Photo: Private.
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– With many foreign workers, the language is challenging and it was unclear how well they were up to date on the corona pandemic. We also have many suppliers and subcontractors, and it has been a challenge to get an overview of everyone who has worked at all times, he admits.
Although the situation was demanding, the mayor believes that the municipality has recovered well from everything.
– We have not had deaths related to this, so in that sense it has gone well. We have also received good help from other municipalities to have enough staff in retrospect, he says.
In short, Eide believes that it is good to get such a report.
– It has many important learning points that both we and the garden will learn from, he says.
It was closed
Erlend Hatleberg, general manager of Havyard, says that the shipyard was closed as of October 3 by decision of the municipality, and that for that reason it was the municipality that had general responsibility for the operation during the period in which the outbreak occurred. .
– It is a challenge for both the shipyard and the municipality to handle such a situation without training, and I think many have done a good job even with such a small municipal administration, Hatleberg tells Dagbladet.
The mayor does not agree that the patio is the responsibility of the municipality.
– We are not responsible for the yard, but for making sure life and health are taken care of, and for investigating if infection control regulations are being met. The yard was closed due to risk of infection for two and a half weeks. During this period, those who had worked and lived in the courtyard carried out the tracing, testing, isolation and quarantine. After this, the yard was declared healthy.
Havyard’s general manager agrees that the operation of the shipyard is his responsibility, but notes that it was the responsibility of the municipality to clarify the conditions around the crown’s measures, such as testing and tracking infections.
– Here we assist the municipality, but they made the decision on how long the patio should be closed, explains Hatleberg.
