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With just four weeks to go until Christmas, the many measures currently place a strong cap on what Christmas will be like this year.
Many people probably expect a celebration that is as normal as possible, but according to health leaders, a lot needs to happen for this to become a reality.
In week 45, the National Institute of Public Health registered 3,994 new cases of infection. The following week, this number had decreased somewhat to 3,891 new cases.
Christmas help
Preben Aavitsland is chief physician at the National Institute of Public Health. He tells TV 2 that they hope this is the beginning of a long-lasting decline, especially in the Oslo and Bergen area.
DECREASE: FHI Chief Physician Preben Aavitsland expects that we will see the beginning of a lasting decline in infection rates. Photo: Tor Erik Schrøder
– When we go down a lot there, these municipalities can gradually start to remove the restrictions. Then we look forward to getting help from the Christmas holidays, when most people stay home or in the cabin, he says.
Deputy Health Director Espen Rostrup Nakstad says that the measures to be implemented during Christmas are continuously evaluated both at the national level and in the municipalities.
– I think it is a couple of weeks too early to say exactly what it will be like, deputy health director Espen Rostrup Nakstad tells TV 2.
– Still unstable
The Secretary of State for the Ministry of Health and Care Services, Maria Jahrmann Bjerke, says it is too early to conclude whether the new measures in weeks 44 and 45 have had the desired effect.
– The infection situation remains unstable. The rapid increase in the number of people testing positive, and the development we are now seeing in other countries in Europe, shows that we must now take steps to avoid further intervention measures, he says, adding:
– It may be relevant with even stricter measures to reduce the frequency of contact in the population. To avoid this, it is important that the population now follow the advice given on the least possible social interaction. We all have to contribute if we want to be able to celebrate a more normal Christmas that we are used to.
– Least likely
However, it is not only infection rates that determine if and when measures can be alleviated.
– The national number of new cases per week is only part of the assessment. We also observe the distribution by municipality, age distribution, number of hospital admissions, infection situations and outbreaks, and other conditions. Based on the big picture, we advise the government on national measures and the municipalities on local measures.
Rostrup Nakstad says we must see a clear downward trend before many of the measures can be withdrawn.
– Most importantly, the measures that have the greatest effect have an effect long enough that the level of infection decreases significantly. So the infection is also less likely to flare up when measures are relaxed, he says.
EARLY: Deputy Health Director Espen Rostrup Nakstad says it is currently too early to say what measures will accompany us at Christmas. Photo: Truls Aagedal / TV 2
– Must be on guard
Aavitsland at FHI says it is neither realistic nor a goal to reduce the number of infections by between 0 and 50 per day.
– The government’s goal is that the epidemic is under control, that is, that hospitals are not overloaded and that the burden of the disease is low, he says.
The superior says that they believe that Oslo, in particular, will be part of the rest of the country during the winter.
– In the rest of the municipalities it will be quite quiet, but there may be small or large outbreaks all the time, so you have to be careful. If municipalities detect outbreaks in time and react quickly, they gain control. Otherwise, they risk a much more difficult situation that takes time to reverse, says Aavitsland.
