The British coronavirus mutation has spread to at least 44 municipalities

To date, more than 400 cases of mutant viruses have been detected in 44 municipalities. The real number is greater. See which municipalities are affected.

In recent days, there have been more and more case reports of the British mutant virus. 112 new cases were detected on Monday, marking a new record.

The South African variant of the virus has also started to take hold, but has so far been detected in far fewer municipalities.

– We consider it likely that the English variant will become dominant in all or parts of the country in a few weeks or months, says the director of the department, Line Vold, according to a press release that was published on the website of the National Institute Public Health on Monday.

The vast majority of cases of the British variant of the virus have so far been found in some of the country’s municipalities.

• Or in the big cities of Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim.
• Or related to three much-discussed outbreaks, at Nordre Follo and Halden in eastern Norway and at Ulvik in western Norway.

But Aftenposten’s review of municipalities’ media coverage and websites also shows that the British virus variant has been detected in at least 44 municipalities.

There may be even more. Aftenposten has asked the National Institute of Public Health for a municipal overview, but they have said no. NIPH refers to privacy considerations, despite the fact that it is common practice for municipalities to publish mutant virus findings.

By far the most in Oslo

As of Monday, Oslo had 134 known cases of the British mutant. Therefore, it is the municipality that clearly has the most cases. Only on Monday 40 cases were detected. Oslo also claims that they have found six cases of the South African virus mutant and are testing a few more samples that they suspect are South African variants.

– For a large proportion of cases, the route of infection is known, but there are some cases in which infection is still detected. We are talking about cases both over time and about samples taken recently, writes communications consultant Kjartan Sverdrup at the Oslo Health Service in an email.

For privacy reasons, the Health Service will not reveal anything about the specific districts or dates involved.

One in three is a British variant in Bergen.

From Bergen, outbreaks have been reported in the last week at two construction sites that are linked to mutant viruses. Health Bergen comprises 18 municipalities. They claim that one in three cases now found is a British variant. The South African represents 3.6 percent.

During the first week of February, there were 196 positive samples, says department head Elling Ulvestad in the Department of Microbiology at Haukeland University Hospital to VG.

– Of the 196 positive samples, 65 were the British mutation and 7 the South African mutation, he says.

Many cases of infection have not been unleashed.

It appears that many of the known cases of mutant virus infection have not led to an outbreak. This is mainly due to the fact that those who have brought the infection to Norway have been good and have complied with the quarantine rules.

Tracing infections has been relatively straightforward. In many cases, it has been possible to establish that the danger has passed even before it has been confirmed that it is a mutant virus.

Even in municipalities where there have been outbreaks, it appears that the number of new infections has dropped dramatically in recent days, which may indicate that one has gained control or is on the verge of contracting it.

An example is Fredrikstad, where there have been 9 cases with the British variant. All the cases believed to be related to the eruption of the Halden ice rink.

– We have a good overview of the transmission routes and we are closely monitoring the situation in the coming days to frame the outbreak as best as possible. We see that the mutated virus spreads more easily and the infection spreads faster than we are used to. This requires us to be quick and thorough in our infection detection work, writes communications consultant Tine Solberg Johansen in Fredrikstad municipality in an email to Aftenposten.

Massive tests to find all cases of infection.

One municipality that is now conducting massive tests to control an outbreak is Nittedal on the outskirts of Oslo. Two cases of the British virus variant have been identified, but the municipality estimates that 27 people, many of them schoolchildren, are infected with the same variant of the virus.

The young people have been skiing in the Varingskollen ski area and the municipality has encouraged everyone who was there between 1 and 5 February to take the test. Over the course of a weekend alone, it can be about 1600 people.

In order to offer crowning tests to everyone, the municipality has received help from neighboring municipalities, including Oslo.

The same “medicine” that works

FHI claims that it is the infection control measures we already know of that limit the spread of the English variant of the virus, and probably the South African one as well.

• Distance.
• Hand hygiene and coughing.
• Stay home when you are sick.

To stop breakouts, there are also known measures that should be used:

• Testing, infection tracking and quarantine.
• Measures that limit contact between people.

Norway’s infection rates have declined in recent weeks. This is mainly due to the fact that Norway has had strict measures in place for a long period.

There are still many that are put to the test. The proportion of those who test positive for COVID-19 is declining, FHI says.

– We have a significantly better overview than most other countries in Europe, but we still want more samples for analysis, both from labs across the country, as well as positive samples returned over time to get more information on how long these have been variants in Norway. says Line Vold.

Here’s what we know about the British variant of the virus:

Infectious: British researchers estimated for the first time that the virus was 70 percent more contagious than other variants of the coronavirus. But this figure quickly dropped to something close to 50 percent. In January, the Danes estimated that it could be 36 percent more contagious, but emphasized that the figures were surrounded by great uncertainty.

The NIPH estimates that it is “significantly more contagious.”

British researchers have also raised concerns that the virus variant is more easily transmitted between children and young people.

– The infection can spread among young people, especially when it comes to a more contagious variant, says Margrethe Greve-Isdahl, chief physician and specialist in childhood diseases at the National Institute of Public Health to GBV.

Danger: FHI says what they know about the English variant so far shows that it does not cause more serious disease.

Vaccine: The vaccines we have received so far in Norway are reported to work on this mutation as well, according to FHI.

We know this about the South African virus variant:

Infectious: there is less knowledge about the South African variety. FHI also believes this is more contagious.

Danger: NIPH does not know what causes more serious illness.

Vaccine: South Africa has stopped vaccinating with the Astra Zeneca vaccine because a study indicated that the vaccine has little effect against mild and moderate disease caused by the South African mutant.

The head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says according to NTB that it is too early to reject the Astra Zeneca vaccine.

But he says the study, which suggests the vaccine has limited effect on the South African mutation, is “obviously worrying news.”