Now the city council arrives with a decision on the crown measures in Bergen – NRK Vestland

The Bergen City Council is relaxing some of the most intrusive crowning measures in Bergen.

City Councilman Roger Valhammer was able to announce this at a press conference today.

The City Council has chosen to continue the local infection control regulations with the following changes as of Monday:

• The number that can be collected at home increases from five to ten with a meter away.
• At indoor events, up to 50 people are allowed with permanent seating.
• At private indoor events in public places, the limit is 20.
• Sports halls, swimming pools and gyms may be open for individual training. Group training will not be allowed for the next two weeks.
• Bingo halls, libraries, and the like that have been closed can now be opened.
• Cafes and restaurants can extend their opening hours until 23:00 and can serve alcohol until 22:30.
• Cultural institutions that have sold tickets in advance can hold the pre-show at the scheduled time.
• There is no longer a red level in upper secondary school, but the county council can introduce it if necessary.

In the past 24 hours, 13 new corona infections have been reported in Bergen.

The city council leader says the goal is for the people of Bergen to be able to celebrate Christmas with national measures, but that local measures should continue until December 20 if this is possible.

– I want to boast of the good compliance that everyone has shown, but it is crucial that the infection rate continues to fall, says Valhammer.

Hard measures

As early as Monday, Health Councilor Beate Husa (KrF) said that Bergen has turned strong growth into clear decline. He then announced that the city council would make a decision on the measures before the weekend.

He said at the same time that one did not aim to quell the infection, despite a clear decline.

In early November, Bergen experienced an explosive week of infection. This led the city council to introduce particularly intrusive measures that the people of Bergen had to live with.

Among other things, we are not allowed to gather more than five people in private homes. The exception is for larger families.

The police have punished rule violations with heavy fines.

Nightclubs and restaurants have also had to close before 10pm. After 9:30 p.m. we cannot serve alcohol.

Go back to national rules

Bergen’s strict measures also apply in neighboring municipalities.

In a press release, both Øygarden and the municipality of Alver warn that they will return from Monday, December 7 to follow national infection control regulations. For example, this is not relevant in Bergen.

The municipalities will continue to recommend face masks in stores and offices throughout the year for everyone who can.

– We must not delay and let go, but do more than we know works. The hope is that we prevent the pressure of infection from increasing and similar regulations need to be introduced again, says Alver Mayor Sara Sekkingstad (Sp).

The municipality of Osterøy also announces that the national measures will be valid from Tuesday.

The Bjørnafjorden municipality reports that it will continue with local infection control regulations, but that they will make several changes starting Monday.

Positive infection trend

The measures in Bergen would not last until November 23. The city council decided to extend them until December 6.

In recent weeks, the number of infections has decreased. On average, there have been around 17 infections per day in the last week.

On Thursday, there were only 10 infections in the city. This is a great contrast from November 13. At that time, 125 cases of infection were recorded.

Helse Bergen now estimates the number r in Bergen to be 0.4.

Death in a new hospital

Today also came the news of a new death at the Red Cross hospital in Bergen.

This is the fifth death at the hospital where a total of 10 residents have been confirmed to be infected with covid-19.

According to director Morten Amundsen, it is unclear how the infection entered.