Støre believes the government is behind – NRK Norway – Summary of news from different parts of the country

On Sunday, Prime Minister Erna Solberg and health authorities presented new guidelines.

Middle schools and upper secondary schools are now at a red tier and each individual school must decide whether it can comply with the subway rule.

There will also be no physical education on campuses before January 18, the government has decided.

The leader of the Labor Party, Jonas Gahr Støre, criticizes the timing of the councils. He also addresses the pace of vaccination and what he believes is the lack of support for businesses.

– they are behind

– They are overdue, as in the import center. This led to chaotic conditions at Norwegian airports. It is serious because in the future we will receive many who will go to work in Norway, says Jonas Gahr Støre.

Our neighboring countries Sweden and Denmark are among the countries in the world that have the highest infection pressure now. Although Norway is also seeing an increase in recent weeks, the infection is at a lower level than in many other countries. Therefore, it is very important to control the entrance.

This weekend, the government introduced a duty to test for COVID-19 for people traveling to Norway. As of Saturday, everyone arriving in Norway will need to register digitally. The digital trip record replaces the temporary paper solution.

– Now Støre should be happy that we have mandatory tests, says Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

– You have 14 hours

On Monday morning, he met Støre at the first debate this year. He believes that the government took too long to establish itself in the discussion with the health authorities.

– My answer is that they have 14 hours to do these evaluations. It should be possible to give a signal earlier to those teachers who have done so much to adapt to better prepare.

– Also, we have the students who yesterday had to read on the Bent Høie Facebook page that there will be no lectures on campus before January 18. Many had requested tickets and could have been notified earlier, Støre says.

Erna Solberg believes that the measures were taken as soon as possible.

– We received the recommendations from the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) at 4 pm on Saturday. We informed the students as soon as we had conferred in the government. It is important to include in the story that on December 28, FHI informed us that they would now not recommend new measures. They would wait until the beginning of January. We have tried to follow professional recommendations, says Solberg.

Slow vaccination?

At the same time as new guidelines came in, this weekend the government had to answer critical questions about why the vaccination rate is lower in Norway than in many other countries.

– Why are we and the EU lagging behind the rest of the world?

– First of all, it is the case that several countries have so-called emergency approval and, therefore, have shortened the approval procedures. We have urgent approval. There are nuances, but that means it’s a professionally broader review, and I think it’s wise from the EU because there’s a lot of skepticism about vaccines and all the things that are shortened contribute to making people more fearful, says Solberg.

The Prime Minister says that several agreements have been made because it would invest in different vaccines so that the development of the vaccine is rapid.

– So Israel was lucky that they were vaccinated early. But they could have bet on the wrong producer and had to wait longer, says Solberg.

Støre agrees that Norway should focus on more vaccines, but questions the timing of vaccination.

“Israel put everything on a horse and beat it. We have been involved in a bigger project that I think will secure the vaccines, but it is the ability to put them out and get them to the important groups that is important,” says Støre.

– Record that we have received 50,000 vaccines, 2,000 doses have been given. So we have a lot to go on to consume what we have. The question is whether we have enough vaccines to vaccinate at the rate we need to increase the population, says Støre.

The Labor leader believes that the vaccine will not limit the need for action because the infection is here. Therefore, you are concerned about the rhythm. Solberg says vaccines are given as quickly as possible.

– We are concerned that they are taken immediately, precisely because they do not last more than five days, says Solberg.

Critical to lack of financial support

Støre is also critical of the compensation scheme for Norwegian companies

– The measures that were introduced yesterday should be followed by measures for those industries: the outdoor industry, sports, training and the parts of tourism that are most affected. The measures we have now are not being maintained and the compensation scheme should have been in place and the fact that it is not in place means the companies that could manage will leave, says Støre.

Solberg says Norway has a good system.

– We have one of the best in Europe. We will also see enlargement. If it becomes difficult for some industries, then this scheme is such that the more difficulties, the more money you get. But companies will fail, says Solberg.