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Nordre Follo Mayor Hanne Opdan suspects a new outbreak with the British variant of the virus at another school.
The number of proven cases of the British virus variant remains 69, says Mayor Hanne Opdan (Labor).
– 15 positive cases of ordinary test were confirmed on Wednesday, January 27
Five of the cases are related to two elementary schools. A large number of cases are related to the Tårnåsen school. School samples must be sent to FHI.
– We suspect a mutated virus at school, confirms the speaker.
The outbreak in the Tårnåsen school has a rapid development that differs from other outbreaks in schools, says municipal chief physician Kerstin Anine Johnsen Myhrvold.
On Friday of last week, it emerged that the municipality of Nordre Follo had discovered several positive samples of the mutated British virus. Since then, the number of positive samples showing mutated viruses has increased.
– We are working to end the mutation of the virus in our municipality, it is done through intensive infection work, says Mayor Opdan.
She encourages anyone with symptoms to get tested, even at the slightest sign of a symptom.
To turn off
Nordre Follo was notified on Monday another 40 new cases of infection of the mutated virus. On the same day, four positive samples were added.
The first positive samples of the virus variant in the municipality were detected in connection with an outbreak in the Langhus residential and service center, where 12 infected residents and 22 employees were infected.
The nursing home raised the alarm and alerted the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) when they experienced the virus spreading faster than before. The English virus mutation can be up to 70 percent more contagious than the common coronavirus.
After the nursing home notified FHI that the virus behaved differently, it still took 13 days from the time the samples were received by the National Institute of Public Health until the test response arrived.
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The outbreak in Nordre Follo has led to the closure of the municipality and nine other neighboring municipalities in the Oslo region. Schools have been on a red alert, shops are closed and the population has been asked to stay home.
Another 15 municipalities in eastern Norway have also been strengthened to prevent the spread of the virus.
