– We must put our social life on hold – VG

– I would have liked to wish you a happy new year, but unfortunately the new year has not started as we expected, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said at the press conference on Sunday afternoon.

Starting tomorrow, January 4, the Government will introduce these precautionary measures and prohibitions until January 18:

• A maximum of five people in private gatherings outside of their own home, such as a birthday party at a rented venue. If there are more than five people in the same household, of course all household members can get together.
• A maximum of ten people at indoor sporting events, cultural events, seminars, philosophical gatherings, ceremonies, etc., still 200 people where all attendees sit in fixed seats. At funerals, there can be up to 50 people, even if the seats are not fixed.
• A national ban on serving alcohol in restaurants and events is introduced.
• The special rules for church tours will be repealed immediately, instead of starting January 15.

In addition, the government will make the following recommendations and recommendations in the next two weeks:

• Avoid having guests at home and wait 14 days for private visits. Exceptions for necessary home services and visits to people who are in the last stage of life. Single people can visit or visit one or two regular friends or a permanent home. Children in kindergartens and primary schools can receive visits from their own cohort.
• It is recommended to postpone all organized leisure activities, sports activities, cultural events and philosophical gatherings indoors until after January 18. This also applies to all indoor activities that bring children and youth together in all classes / cohorts. You can do outdoor activities if you can keep a good distance.
• Avoid all unnecessary travel in and out of the country. Stays in cabins with people from the same household are not yet advised against, within local and national councils and the regulations that apply.
• All shopping centers and stores must introduce number restrictions so that it is possible to maintain their distance and have access control. Over the next few days, the government will consider whether to restrict the number of restrictions and access control.
• All upper secondary and secondary schools in the country are moving to the red level.
• All teaching and all planned events at universities, colleges and vocational schools will be digitized until January 18.
• Home office for anyone who has the opportunity to do so.

The government is adding several measures that municipalities and regions with high infection pressure should consider introducing:

• If primary schools and kindergartens should follow the ‘red level’ guide.
• Mandate for the use of masks in public places where it is not possible to maintain a distance of at least one meter.
• Ask for a home office when possible.
• Order to close the operation of gyms, bingo and swimming pools.

– Wait for someone to visit you

“Unfortunately, we see several signs that a new wave of infections may be on the way,” says Solberg.

Health authorities fear that the pandemic will spiral out of control.

– We can’t let that happen. Together, we must take steps to prevent this from happening, says the Prime Minister.

As infection rates are now, this week you may have numbers that are roughly the same level as when the decline began in November:

– I ask you to wait for someone to visit you. Wait fourteen days to invite someone over. There is little infection among children, so children of primary school and kindergarten age can have children in the same cohort visit. But we must all stop our social life, says the Prime Minister.

We have not yet seen the full effect of the Christmas and New Year celebrations, where many have gathered. So it’s too early to say exactly what the numbers will look like, the situation is confusing, says Solberg.

– In the next few days, we hope that more people staying abroad will return to Norway. The new virus detected in England appears to be more contagious. This variant has also been tested here at home.

Red level

Throughout the pandemic, it has been a clear goal that children and youth should bear the least burden in the fight against the pandemic. That is still the case, says Education Minister Guri Melby.

– School is important for learning and development and therefore it is important that it be open. The government will continue to prioritize children and youth. But we see that using levels of red in areas with high levels of infection has worked well to limit infection, says Melby.

– Numbers dropped dramatically for people ages 13-19 in the weeks after the introduction of the red tier in some parts of the country. To our knowledge, no major outbreaks have been observed in schools that have had red levels.

Melby says that several children and young people have been diagnosed with the mutated British variant of the virus.

She emphasizes that this group is not necessarily more exposed to the virus than others, but that this is probably due to attempts to keep schools and kindergartens open.

– Test yourself

The Minister for Children and Families, Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (KrF), strongly urges people to get tested after hearing reports that people have mild symptoms for several days before getting tested.

– Faced with a global pandemic, it is easy to feel powerless. What can a single person do with such great challenges? The simple answer is that you can make a difference. In fact, we are completely dependent on each individual following all the tips and rules. Only then can we control the infection, he says.

– Several municipalities now report that many suffer from symptoms for several days before being tested. Many people think that it is just a common cold. The coronavirus has very different effects on different people. Some get so bad they are hospitalized, while others barely notice symptoms, Ropstad continues.

– Therefore, it is important to get tested when you only have mild symptoms. Not sure if you should prove yourself, go and prove yourself ?, says KrF leader.

Recommended torque

The Norwegian Health Directorate presented the following recommendations to the government in advance:

• Maximum 5 people in private meeting.
• A maximum of 10 people at an indoor event, still 200 people where everyone in the audience sits in fixed seats.
• A maximum of 200 people at outdoor events, still 600 people where everyone in the audience sits in fixed seats.
• A maximum of 10 people on church walks in Christian denominations.
• Prohibition of serving alcohol, restaurants may remain open otherwise.

Deputy Health Director Espen Rostrup Nakstad says they fear losing control if they don’t adjust now while you still have a chance to do so.

– We recommend adjusting now because we have had an increase in infection in Norway in the last three weeks, and FHI calculates an R number of 1.3, which means that we can expect a significant increase in infection in the next few weeks, said Rostrup Nakstad to VG.

FHI informed VG on Saturday that it would propose new infection control measures as a result of the increased infection.

See all FHI tips here:

Ask students to stay home

On Saturday, the government wrote that there will be no physical education on campuses until January 18.

They ask the students to wait to return from Christmas break. The goal is to reduce the pressure of the infection.

– This means that those who want and have the opportunity can stay where they have been during the Christmas holidays and avoid taking a plane, train or bus to travel back to campus, says the Minister of Research and Higher Education Henrik Asheim (H) .

Asheim says the government has prepared for students to also have digital education this year. Understand that homeschooling can be challenging.

– I know it is difficult for many, and my clear message to all principals is that they should keep track of their students and create alternative professional meeting places. We all need to take care of each other, says Asheim.