Suspected corona infection at the Vard shipyard in Sunnmøre – NRK Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio

The infected worker came from abroad in January, and according to the Ålesund municipality, the person in question must be quarantined and test negative for all tests during the quarantine period.

With that, the municipal chief emphasizes that it is a domestic contagion. We must start immediately with measures to prevent further spread.

– We have sent home workers we suspect may be exposed to infections. We cannot say anything yet about the consequences this will have for the shipyard, says Arnt Inge Gjerde, owner of the Vard Søviknes shipyard.

There are around 700 working in the Søvika shipyard. The shipyard has already washed and disinfected the area where the worker has been in recent days.

The suspicion of infection has now been transferred to one of Vard’s barracks in Trohaugen in Vestnes municipality, where the person in question will be isolated.

– The person in question had symptoms of the coronavirus, so he was tested, says Gjerde.

Start infection tracking

The municipal chief doctor for Ålesund and Vard assists in infection detection and close contact testing.

For example, 45 people have been reported to have been quarantined as a result of the positive rapid test.

– These are only preliminary figures. We are working to get an overview, and these figures are the latest we have received, says Ålesund chief physician Olav Mestad.

The source of the person’s infection is, for example, unknown. Now the municipality is waiting for a response to what is called a PCR test, which will tell if it really is an infection.

– These rapid tests are not 100% safe, but we work on the basis that the person in question is actually infected, so we will see what the PCR test shows, says Mestad.

Vard has several shipyards where they depend on foreign labor. Former employees have told NRK that the shipyard spends many millions on infection control measures to prevent outbreaks.