These are the new measures

The municipalities of Nord-Jæren met on Wednesday to obtain new common regulations on the crown. – We are at breaking point, said Stavanger Mayor Kari Nessa Nordtun.

After hectic meeting activities for one day, the four mayors of Nord-Jæren on Wednesday afternoon were able to present a common regulation that will apply from Thursday.

See the press conference here:

– This has been a demanding year for many, and we know that many have planned New Years celebrations. We have yet to introduce measures and ask all residents to further restrict social contact so that we have control over the spread and tracing of the infection, say mayors Kari Nessa Nordtun, Stanley Wirak, Tom Henning Slethei and Jarle Bø.

The four mayors of Stavanger, Sandnes, Sola and Randaberg emphasize that the serious contagion situation forces to halt the New Year’s celebration this year.

– We must all think about the risk of contagion and limit the number of close contacts. Keep your distance, wash your hands, be more attentive to symptoms and have a low threshold for testing, all four say.

These are the new measures:

The measures that will be applied in the four municipalities as of December 31, 2020 can be summarized as follows:

• It continues with the recommendation to avoid public transport.
• Mandatory bandages are extended for general application in public places, where the distance requirement cannot be met.
• The current recommendation for the use of a home office is maintained.
• The national ban on events in public places or in rented premises for more than 50 people is tightened up to a maximum of 20 people for both outdoor and indoor events. The obligation to report events is stricter so that events for more than 10 people must be reported, where before it was 20.
• Recommendation to limit the number of social contacts for a week to 10 people, beyond one’s own home and at school / work. The national ban on private gatherings in public places and rented premises is tightened from 20 to 10 people.
• The prohibition of sports and leisure activities for adults in groups of more than 10 people is reintroduced.
• Stores, shopping malls, libraries and some other companies are ordered to comply with distance requirements and, if necessary, security / access control.
• The top of the bar will be tightened until 22.00. Registration obligation and distance requirements are reintroduced for guests.

Read the full regulation here.

Huge spread

– Why are these drastic measures necessary?

– Development in the last three to four weeks has resulted in a significant increase in infection rates, and especially in the last week. In the four municipalities that we have, the number of infected in the last 14 days before December 9 was 35, while in the last 14 days the number is 355. Of these, 52, that is, 15 percent , have a completely unknown route of infection, explained Hans Petter Torvik, chief physician at Sandnes, at the press conference.

A very important figure is how many infected there are per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days. For Stavanger it has gone from 16 to 173, for Sola from 7 to 99, for Randaberg from 0 to 80, and for Sandnes from 25-73. It shows a huge development in the spread of the infection.

– In our municipalities there are now 12 nursing homes and housing associations for vulnerable groups that are on standby due to infection among employees, and this implies that staff and residents in quarantine must undergo tests to make sure they are not infected, Torvik said.

“Now the situation is such that everyone feels that it is necessary to toughen up,” said Wirak.

Unknown transmission path

Last week, the infection was mainly concentrated in the Somali community and in the taxi industry. According to Runar Johannessen, chief doctor for infection control in Stavanger, this was a clear picture. Now, 52 of the total 335 cases of infection, or 15 percent, have an unknown route of infection, according to Torvik.

– Now we define ourselves at risk level 3 according to the division of FHI levels, and this means that there is an increasing spread in the population, both in known clusters, and in some that come with an unknown transmission route. And there are some trends that we are moving towards risk level 4, which means that there is a widespread infection in the population. And we haven’t seen the full effect of the Christmas celebration yet, because the incubation period is five to seven days, Torvik said.

Figures show that if action is not taken, we may be at risk of having 200 new cases of infection every day.

– If we delay in implementing the measures, we will have to live with high infection rates for many weeks before it starts to decline, said Torvik, and recalled that vaccination, which begins next week, will not affect the infection situation until long time. .

Volunteer work on behalf of the region.

The R number is now 2.6. Last week, 11,000 were tested, and 2.55 percent of these were positive. This means that the infection can easily get out of control. Nordtun believes that we are now at a breaking point.

– So I think it’s good that we come together around this now. When the pressure of infection is as great as it is now, we cannot afford to wait, he said.

Wirak said that in Sandnes there is not necessarily so much infection in the municipality that in itself it would lead to such strict measures.

– But this is a charity on behalf of the region, and then it is important that we meet.

In the municipality of Sola, the infection has entered both the home care service and nursing homes. Therefore, Mayor Tom Henning Slethei hopes that people will take the new regulations seriously.

– It is precisely this group of the population that we are trying to protect. These measures by themselves are not enough. It must also be in the consciousness of the people.

The three mayors also made it clear that they hope that the inhabitants of Nord-Jæren who now celebrate the New Year on the mountain, and in another municipality, will also follow the same rules as those who stay at home.

– Use common sense. Have a good celebration, but limit the number of close contacts. Be a little more attentive, Slethei said.