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When the pandemic broke out in earnest in Norway, the Norwegian Health Directorate hired Espen Nakstad as deputy director of health.
The Deputy Director of Health Geir Stene-Larsen was diagnosed with coronary artery disease and therefore Nakstad was relieved from his job as chief physician and researcher in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Oslo University Hospital to work in the Directorate of Health of Norway.
Looking confident and knowledgeable, the 45-year-old has appeared in thousands of interviews and informed the Norwegian public about how the pandemic has developed.
If you search for Espen Nakstad on the Retriever media monitoring service, you will get more than 2000 articles from 2020.
Insecure from virus
But what has it really been like to be the face of the pandemic in Norway?
– It’s been a job for me. It’s been hectic, but otherwise not very troublesome for me personally, he says in a longer interview with TV 2.
On January 7, Nakstad, who was then working at the Oslo University Hospital, was notified of a new virus that spread like wildfire in China.
But at this point, the experienced doctor was unsure whether the virus would spread outside of China. However, it wasn’t long before everything was turned upside down.
SCRAMBLED: When Espen Nakstad learned of the virus that spread in Wuhan, everyday life quickly turned upside down. Photo: Frode Sunde / TV 2
– In February, it became very clear that it would spread, and when the virus flourished in Italy, it was only a matter of time before it became a problem in Norway as well.
– An alarm clock
Nakstad says the images that spread from China, with overcrowded intensive care units and temporary hospitals building at record speed, impressed.
– When we saw what happened in Wuhan with the capacity problems, and that they had to build new hospitals even though relatively few were infected, it was a wake-up call. It showed that the virus was much more serious than the common flu.
– It also appeared that many of those admitted to the hospital needed intensive care. All these things made the seriousness increase for many of us, and we started working from that as a stage also in Norway.
– Very relaxed
March 12 is a date that Norwegians will remember for a long time. Then Prime Minister Erna Solberg and the rest of the government introduced the strictest and most intrusive measures since World War II.
SERIOUS: There was a depressed mood when FHI Director Camilla Stoltenberg, Health Minister Bent Høie, Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Health Director Bjørn Guldvog were invited to a press conference on March 12. Photo: Lise Åserud
While the date became a milestone for many, Nakstad has a slightly different opinion.
– For me, it wasn’t a milestone. For me, there was great emotion in the previous days, and if we understood the seriousness.
Nakstad was also excited about the strategy the government would follow and whether they would choose the shutdown strategy and turn off the virus.
– When I realized it was going to happen, I was really very relaxed, he says.
Despite warnings that Norwegians did not need to stock up, many chose to go to stores to fill shopping baskets.
COMPLETE SHOPPING CURVES: Many chose and stored food in the days after March 12. Photo: Finn Erik Robstad / TV 2
EMPTY: Sometimes it was empty of staples like toilet paper and paper towels. Photo: Finn Erik Robstad / TV 2
Therefore, the empty shelves became the very symbol of the situation we are facing. However, he gave Nakstad a smile on his face.
– When I saw people hoarding food, I thought that people would contribute and that people wanted us to be successful.
I’ve never been in doubt
The deputy director of health has never been in doubt about whether Norway chose the right strategy.
– But that does not mean that I have locked myself in that thought. We have constantly reassessed, almost every day, if what we have done is correct and if there has been new research or experiences from other countries, which means that we should change course in Norway. But we have always come to the conclusion that the most important thing is to kill the virus and be in control.
But have you ever been afraid that the infection would get out of control?
– Yes, Nakstad answers.
DEFINITELY: Espen Nakstad is confident that Norway has chosen the right strategy in the fight against the virus. Photo: Erik Edland / TV 2
– I was concerned in the February / March transition, if the spread of the infection in Norway had gone too far. There were more infections than we thought, and at the end of March we had more infections recorded in Norway than in Sweden, despite fairly similar testing practices.
– I needed a break
Months passed and, in mid-June, the government decided to make most of the measures more flexible. Despite the fact that the summer holidays had to be spent largely in Norway, Norwegians lived almost as before. Nakstad believes this was important.
– I think this summer people needed a break from infection control measures. It was good for the people, but it quickly turned out that we couldn’t take all the wins beforehand, because there was infection by the fall.
And even Nakstad managed to lower his shoulders, at least a little.
– It was a busy but pleasant summer. I was able to do more than just work, but somehow it became an everyday job anyway.
– A nice memory
Because even during a trip to the top of Norway’s highest mountain, Galdhøpiggen, he was liberated.
– I had many nice walks to swim and sail in the Oslo fjord. I also got to climb Galdhøpiggen. It was a nice memory there too, although there were also some phone interviews on the way up the mountain.
When summer was in full swing, it wasn’t long before infection rates spiked again. This fall’s cohort of students barely managed to open their first beer, before having to go back to their dorms and make new friends digitally.
Nakstad admits that he has paid special attention to the students.
SHORT-TERM PARTY: New student sponsorship week was short-lived when the infection flared again. Here from Nygårdsparken in Bergen. Photo: Sorosh Sadat / TV 2
– I have thought a lot about students moving to new cities and it has been a concern for me. You know they are quite vulnerable in their 20s, and if you don’t have a network, it gets very lonely.
– Very hard
And it is precisely this issue that has been high on the agenda of the Norwegian Health Directorate.
– The proportionality of the measures is something that we have discussed and worked on a lot. We have almost worked more with these evaluations than with the measures, because we do not want to hit harder than necessary.
With Christmas just around the corner, there are probably many who want a vaccine that works and the life of Santa Claus. Nakstad believes that hope and faith in a vaccine is absolutely crucial.
– You see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we know that this will not last many more months. It would have been very difficult now if we didn’t have the chance to get the vaccine for two years. Living like this for another two years would have been very difficult for many.
FREE: Nakstad admits he’s looking forward to a little more free time when the pandemic is over. Photo: Frode Sunde / TV 2
He is waiting for this
Nakstad hopes and believes that 2021 will be a more normal year than the 2020 pandemic year.
– I hope I have a little more free time and not work so much. I also hope to see family and friends. I haven’t seen family and friends in almost a year so I’m looking forward to it.
But before that, we have to hold out a little longer.
– I hope people can persevere until we get a vaccine and until the virus does not spread so much in Norway and Europe. Then things will be much easier. But we must persevere not to risk another wave of infection before immunity is great enough to prevent the virus from spreading further.
