Several municipalities ask residents to get tested for the mutated virus – NRK Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio

The municipality of Stjørdal in Trøndelag came out early with an invitation that residents who had been in Nordre Follo or neighboring municipalities for the past 14 days should be tested.

The decision was already made on Friday night. Municipal Director Tor Jakob Reitan claims that Stjørdal Municipality decided that this was at the forefront of the situation.

After the call went out, the emergency room in Stjørdal was called by people who wanted to book an appointment for the test or ask questions. The demand was so great that the municipality had to refer residents to order online.

Several municipalities are requesting tests

The Trøndelag municipalities of Steinkjer and Malvik also left early to ask people who had been to Nordre Follo or neighboring municipalities to take the test.

Grimstad municipal chief Vegard Vige asks everyone who has come from the Oslo region in the last week to get tested. You want to get tested even if travelers have no symptoms.

The municipality of Arendal encourages everyone who has been in Oslo or the surrounding municipalities in the last ten days to limit the number of close contacts as much as possible.

Three cases of the mutated virus have been detected in Agder, FHI states. One of the people is a resident of Kristiansand. According to the municipality, the test was carried out more than two weeks ago, so the person is no longer contagious.

Crisis meeting in Trondheim: – You must be careful

On Saturday morning Trondheim Township crisis staff also met to discuss the matter.

After the meeting, the municipality issued a request. They want all visitors from the ten municipalities affected by the mutated version of the coronavirus to be tested.

This also applies to people who have had visits from this area.

The municipality asks these groups to limit social contacts to a minimum.

Helge Garåsen, director of health and wellness in Trondheim, says it’s about being careful.

– We have no indication that the mutated virus is in Trondheim, but we must be a little careful. If he gets here, we have a chance to stop an outbreak in the early stages, he tells NRK.

– We follow developments closely all the time. We’re watching, and then we’ll see how it goes, he adds.

Proposes closing national borders

The municipal chief doctor Viggo Lütcherath in Lindesnes proposes closing all the country’s borders for entry for a short period, in order to limit coronary heart disease.

He believes that a brief border closure would be a better measure than asking people not to visit.

To limit the spread of the mutated coronavirus, Sørlandet is closing hospitals for visits from the Oslo region.

– When it comes to the spread of a mutated virus, which can be more contagious, it is important that we be careful and vigilant. We must initiate routines that ensure that the virus does not establish itself in the hospital or in the Agder town, topic director Susanne Hernes tells NRK.

On Saturday afternoon, Helse Nord-Trøndelag asks hospital employees who have been in the Oslo area to get tested. They should stay home and not work until they have passed a negative test result. They should also be tested and be at home if they have relatives in the same household who have been to the Oslo or Follo municipalities.

It also tests domestic travelers at airports.

The municipality of Stjørdal decided on Saturday morning to expand the testing capacity at Trondheim Værnes airport. In addition to screening foreign travelers, the municipality will screen passengers from eastern Norway.

Travelers from Gardermoen and Sandefjord are now being asked to test themselves at Værnes.

The municipality declares that it cooperates with the airlines and Avinor in this. Air passengers receive information before disembarking and in the arrivals hall.

The call of the municipal director is clear:

– You have to test yourself in Værnes. You do your part and we do ours to prevent wild infections.

A special responsibility for central Norway

Reitan says that the municipality of Stjørdal, which is home to the Trondheim Værnes Airport, has a special responsibility over all of central Norway. He says steps are being taken to prevent the mutated virus from spreading in the region.

Travelers coming by train or car from the Oslo area are also asked to take the test.

Tor Jakob Reitan says that there is a close dialogue between the municipal directors and the municipal chief doctors in the area. Several thousand people commute between Stjørdal, Malvik and Trondheim every day.

In Tromsø, there is little infection. Those landing in Tromsø from heavily infected locations, also domestically, are encouraged to get tested in five days.

– We don’t need an additional check now. The only new cases of infection here are import infections, and they are tested at the airport, says Tromsø Mayor Gunnar Wilhelmsen.

The state administrator for Troms and Finnmark is asking people to stay away from municipalities with mutated viruses. Although infection is low in the north, health personnel are exhausted. Hammerfest and Sør-Varanger also encourage everyone who has traveled to southern Norway to put themselves to the test when they return home.