– Shows how fast you can spin – VG

– It shows that the situation is very unstable, says the director of infection control of the National Institute of Public Health to VG.

On Tuesday, December 22, 596 new infections were registered nationwide. 40 municipalities have an increasing tendency to infection. Among them are several of the largest cities in the country, such as Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger, Sandnes and Tromsø.

– Several larger municipalities have had outbreaks with relatively many involved, says director of infection control for the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) Frode Forland.

Read also: Norway now has an increasing tendency to infection

He points to Trøndelag, a county that had a low level of infection, but suddenly has a significantly increasing infection as a result of a major outbreak in Trondheim.

– We have also had outbreaks in Hamar, Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad. The trend is increasing in the states of Inland, Vestfold and Telemark and Trøndelag, Forland.

Less than 3,000 newly infected

It highlights that the trend is increasing slightly at the national level and that there are still stable low figures for most of the counties in Norway. The country as a whole has fewer than 3,000 new corona infections a week. Oslo and Viken still have a slight downward trend.

– But development shows how quickly it can change. It is useless to think that it is over, that now we can relax. That’s an important message, Forland says.

He says it takes very little before a rash occurs and spreads.

– We are a little worried about Christmas. People travel more and are more united. We know that much of the infection occurs in homes and family settings, related to festive gatherings.

Test activity has increased in the past two weeks compared to the last week of November and the first week of December, VG’s summary shows. At the same time, fewer have been tested than in weeks 45 and 46, the first two weeks of November that still stand out as the two weeks with the most tests during the pandemic.

Norwegian Health Directorate deputy health director Espen Rostrup Nakstad tells VG that the rise in infection rates nationwide may be partly due to a higher proportion of people getting tested.

– The proportion of those who test positive for these is a little lower, and this indicates that the dark figures at least have not grown much, he says, adding that he is still concerned about the growing infection in large urban municipalities.

– Trondheim, for example, has had a steady increase over a longer period of time. This is concerning, in part because municipalities can usually reduce the infection in a few days, but now it seems that it is taking longer. This means that there are many who continue to infect others, who are not caught, he says.

It says these municipalities will get a demanding job over Christmas and they must be careful to stop new outbreaks of infection before they can establish themselves.

– We believe that the municipalities will manage it, but unfortunately there will be a lot of work until Christmas for this to happen, he says.

Must be vigilant

Forland says that FHI has also seen an increase in infection associated with religious events, when the holidays are celebrated in churches, mosques and denominations.

– There is an absolute need for great vigilance, says the director of infection control.

NIPH has ongoing contact with all municipalities experiencing outbreaks to discuss infection curves, measures, and restrictions.

– We know that many of the municipalities that have had outbreaks have a great knowledge of the measures. Several have introduced stricter measures locally to reduce infection.

Forland says Moss appears to be in control, after weeks of high infection, as Trondheim awaits the effect of the measures that have been put in place.

Praise the efforts of the municipalities

He also sees positive characteristics in the current situation of the crown:

– Municipalities have been quelling one outbreak after another, with the classic infection control measures. We are in a favorable situation compared to other countries.

He praises the efforts in the municipalities.

– Across the country, they have managed to do testing, infection tracking and follow-up, while also being ready to launch the Christmas vaccine in space, says Forland.

The fact that the corona vaccine is coming out before the end of the year, so that vulnerable groups can be vaccinated quickly, is in their eyes an incredible achievement.

– It seems that the vaccine is breaking new ground. The new technology gives hope that we can also fight other infectious diseases for which we have not yet developed vaccines.

Measurements until summer

But Forland emphasizes that we still can’t lower our shoulders.

– We must maintain infection control measures at least until the first half of 2021, until most of the risk groups have been vaccinated, says the director of infection control.

In the risk report released Monday, NIPH considers the risk of further spread of the infection over the next four weeks to be high locally and regionally.

– The most likely image in the future is the constant local eruptions of varying size. We believe that municipalities can take control of these, writes FHI.

Over the next six months, NIPH believes there will be a continuing danger that the epidemic will spiral out of control at the local, regional or national level.

High risk of local outbreaks

The institute considers that the probability of many local outbreaks with 5 to 50 cases is high, but does not believe that these threaten the capacity of hospitals.

The NIPH believes that there is a moderate probability that some municipalities, especially in the Oslo area, will have persistently higher infection levels during winter.

Any spread of new and more contagious virus variants and vaccination of parts of the population can change the landscape in the next six months.

In the summary below, you can see the municipalities with ascending, flat and descending trends: