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As an outbreak of the mutated virus in Nordre Follo on Friday a week ago sounded the alarm, the government introduced very strict and intrusive restrictions in Oslo and nearby municipalities over the weekend.
The municipalities subject to the measures are divided into “ring 1” and “ring 2”, which on Sunday evening received more subsidies following an outbreak in Halden and several municipalities in Østfold. Some of the infection cases have been shown to be the British and most contagious mutation.
These are rings 1 and 2:
Call 1 municipalities:
- Enebakk, Frogn, Indre Østfold, Moss, Nesodden, Nordre Follo, Oslo, Vestby, Våler, Ås, Halden and Sarpsborg
Call 2 municipalities:
- Asker, Aurskog-Høland, Bærum, Drammen, Horten, Lier, Lillestrøm, Lunner, Lørenskog, Marker, Nittedal, Rakkestad, Rælingen, Råde, Skiptvet, Fredrikstad and Hvaler.
Source: Ministry of Health and Sanitary Services.
The measures that have recently been in place in many municipalities in eastern Norway will be re-evaluated by the NIPH, the Norwegian Health Directorate, the state administrator and the municipalities on Tuesday.
Opens for relief
Deputy Health Director Espen Rostrup Nakstad tells Dagbladet TV that now, after the weekend’s development at Østfold, there is talk of both an older outbreak, the outbreak in Nordre Follo, and a newer outbreak in Halden.
OPINIONS: Deputy Health Director Espen Rostrup Nakstad says relief will be considered in some places on Tuesday. Photo: Berit Roald / NTB
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– So one should sit down tomorrow, based on the knowledge of where the infection really is and based on what the risk considerations really are, and see which municipalities should keep level 1 or level 2, or if someone it must be at a lower level because there is no great risk of spread in these municipalities, says Nakstad.
He says that the Norwegian Health Directorate will go back to where it is recommended that the measures be continued and where it is recommended that they be continued.
– There are many samples that are under analysis and a lot of infection tracking work has been done in and around Halden, so here are a lot of things that need to be in place before I can give a recommendation of advice and measures that they must continue and not continue in these municipalities.
Nakstad says he doesn’t have a complete description of how many samples will be tested.
– Dozens of samples are taken every day and the analysis time has been greatly shortened. But new information is constantly coming in and only in the last 24 hours has the situation changed as the test results come in.
According to the FHI survey, it does not appear that there are many new municipalities, which have not yet been affected, that may be at risk of being subject to the new and strict measures, says Nakstad.
– It is more a question of whether some of the municipalities that are now affected have so little contagion or risk of contagion that they may not need the same measures as their neighboring municipalities.
These are the measurements
Difficult assessment
Nakstad emphasizes, however, that a large area with many residents and business travelers is affected, and that this makes assessments difficult.
– Neither people nor viruses always respect municipal limits, so this is a region that must be seen a bit as a whole and measures must be mapped in the region and not only in the individual municipality.
On Saturday, Health Minister Bent Høie announced relief in eight of the municipalities that have been subject to strict restrictions after the Nordre Follo outbreak, as the infection situation remains unchanged.
This means, among other things, that schools go from red to yellow and individual stores can reopen.
– Possible to relax
Oslo is one of the municipalities where the measures will be re-evaluated on Tuesday.
– The general thing we can say is that if the level of infection in Norway continues to fall as it is now, and the mutated virus does not gain ground and increases its spread, it will be possible to soften some of the measures, I think. , without causing any increased spread, says Nakstad.
However, he is aware that the season is not played in teams.
– It’s in the middle of winter and it’s cold. We are a lot indoors where we know that the virus spreads more easily when people get together. When we also have individual cases of mutated virus, we just have to hope that this improves in the future. The figures suggest that the level of infection in Norway is declining, thankfully.
Virus mutant ravages: – A horror movie.
Difficult season
According to Nakstad, one can begin to ease mobility reduction measures, such as closing shopping malls, when one has a better overview of the situation. However, he is aware that an assessment must be made because the risk of infection increases the more mobility there is in society.
– When can shopping centers reopen?
– If you are indoors with many people present, the risk of infection increases with the number of people and the time you are there. It is also related to ventilation. It is the case that we are not quite sure where people get infected. There are many cases of uncertain contagion that you do not know where you have been infected, and this makes you think with a cautious attitude regarding the spread of the infection where you know that there are many people from different municipalities, says Nakstad and adds:
– For example, to a shopping center. It’s a typical activity that you want to limit until the situation clears up more.
In Halden, among other things, several of the infection cases are linked to an ice rink, where so far only one person has been diagnosed with the mutated virus.
– Not the first example of the spread of infection in hockey halls. It probably has to do with the fact that, on ice, in a hockey hall, with little air circulation, where it is cold and the air can be still and still. It can be beneficial for this virus. It thrives when it’s cold and where the air is fairly stagnant. This may be the reason why we have seen cases both in Norway and abroad of increased infectivity in hockey halls.
