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RISING NUMBER: Deputy Health Director Espen Rostrup Nakstad is not surprised that there are now more than 40 hospitalized with the coronavirus. Photo: Krister Sørbø
There are now 45 people hospitalized with coronavirus. According to the Deputy Director of Health Espen Rostrup Nakstad, there is a significant risk that the numbers will continue to rise.
– These figures are not surprising. We have seen an increasing trend in the number of admissions since September, reflecting the increase in infection that began in August, says VG’s deputy health director Espen Rostrup Nakstad.
He notes that there is still quite a large variation in hospitalization figures from day to day, but the average is significantly higher now than it was in September.
There have been no more corona patients in Norwegian hospitals since May, VG’s overview shows.
Nakstad says there has been the largest increase in infections in the largest cities, but that outbreaks in district municipalities also contribute to the increase.
– The figures tell us that the infection has increased steadily in Norway in the last two months and that unfortunately the breeding number (R) is now above 1. Furthermore, we see that the infection has started to spread to older age groups also in Norway, in the same way as we have seen in Europe, he says.
– Are these figures expected to continue increasing in the future?
– There is a significant risk that the numbers will continue to slowly rise in Norway, but we can still reverse the trend before it has a more dramatic effect. So we depend on more people to follow the basic infection control rules, Nakstad says.
He says that violations of infection control rules cause the vast majority of local outbreaks.
– Fortunately, most people are still very good at staying home when sick, testing themselves and keeping their distance from others. There is a minority that does not follow infection control advice and represents a fairly large part of the spread of infection, says Nakstad.
