– We did not press the big red button – NRK Vestland

– We are in a dramatic moment for western Norway. There are major outbreaks in Ulvik and Voss, says Councilor Roger Valhammer (Labor).

The municipality still believes that the mutated viruses have been delimited and have not spread to the city.

The situation is still clear, but it can change quickly.

– Today we did not press the big red button. But it can happen and it can happen quickly.

– You do not know the source of infection.

Two new cases of the South African variant of the mutated virus were reported in Bergen on Thursday.

Thus, a total of three people in the municipality are infected with the South African variant. It is supposed to infect more easily.

– We do not know the source of infection, we did not find patient zero, said infection control chief Frank van Betten in Bergen Township Wednesday night.

The municipality of Bergen has not put crisis management in place as a result of the mutated cases.

Low infection rates

Despite the discovery of mutations, infection rates remain low in Bergen.

Seven new cases of infection were registered on Thursday. A total of 1194 people were tested yesterday.

However, more positive cases are expected in the future. The reason is that close contacts have tested positive for coronavirus, but the samples have not yet been tested for mutations.

Health Councilor Beate Husa (KrF) says the municipality is still waiting for the test results, so the situation can change quickly.

– If we find more infection and there are several mutant cases that are not linked to each other, then we can quickly find ourselves in a different situation, says Husa.

If the infection gets out of control, it may be relevant to introduce new measures in Bergen and the surrounding municipalities.

Testing extensively in nursing homes

The infection markers now go back 14 days in time to give you a better idea of ​​the infection situation.

– We work with testing and monitoring of infections associated with a workplace, says Husa.

One of the people infected with the South African variant is associated with hospital B of the Melkeplassen nursing home in Bergen. Employees and residents are now undergoing extensive testing.

Extensive infection control work

This is the first time that the South African mutation has been discovered in western Norway.

Previously, the mutation had been discovered a total of two times in Norway, both in relation to entry.

The English variant of the coronavirus has also been detected in Bergen, as in Ulvik, Kvam, Samnanger and Voss.

Extensive infection tracking work is underway in Bergen. Both the close contacts of the infected and their close contacts are now quarantined.

On Wednesday night, 86 Søreide school students and everyone in the students’ home were quarantined, after a person associated with the school tested positive.

A student at the school has been confirmed infected with the South African variant, van Betten informs Bergens Tidende.

More dangerous and more contagious

Director Camilla Stoltenberg of the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) believes there are reasons to be more vigilant about the South African mutant variant.

– It is more contagious than the usual variants, it is more dangerous and does not respond as well to vaccines, he says.

Since covid-19 was discovered, the virus has mutated several thousand times. The mutations found in Norway are the British and South African mutation.

The British variant has spread to more than 50 countries and has given much of eastern Norway the most stringent measures since March last year.