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The country’s bars and pubs still have to close at midnight every night. The government will spend more time considering the plan.
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– I think that the stop at the bar has caused fewer parties and that more people go home earlier. But it has also led to several private parties, where infection control is the first guest to go to bed, says Health Minister Bent Høie (H).
It had previously announced a new evaluation of the stricter bar rules in early September.
At the corona press conference on Wednesday, the health minister said they will now look at experiences after just over three weeks with previously closed bars and pubs. In the meantime, the current rules will continue until further notice.
– Completely incomprehensible
The leader of the Virke employers’ organization reacts to the decision.
– It is completely incomprehensible that the Minister of Health chooses to continue the bar with the knowledge we have today. For several weeks, we have seen the consequences of this, in the sense that private meetings have turned into contagious parties, Virke’s director, Ivar Horneland Kristensen, says in a statement.
– This is exactly what Virke and the industry itself warned against when the bar was introduced. It is better for people to have a party with serious players in the restaurant industry than in private rooms where no one makes sure that infection control rules are followed, he continues.
Kristensen believes that the government must now introduce new measures to help the industry at a difficult time.
– The government must listen to the industry and those who care about operating well and correctly. Now they have abolished the compensation scheme keeping strict restrictions that make companies bleed. They must soon come up with measures that allow the industry to bounce back through this, says Kristensen.