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Norway now has up to 20 confirmed cases per 100,000 inhabitants, which is the country’s own limit for that red list other countries or regions.
– Most of the new cases are related to known outbreaks and this means that we still believe we have a good control over the situation, says Frode Forland, director of infection control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI).
It is in Fredrikstad and Bergen where the spread of the infection is greatest, but in most municipalities it seems much better, according to Forland.
– We are not calling this a new wave, but local outbreaks that we have seen during August and September. Currently, we have eight smaller outbreaks in different municipalities and there we make sure to track, test and isolate, he says.
In Bergen, many students have been infected by the new coronavirus. Jonas Ellingsen Næsse, is one of them, and he has been allowed to stay in a hotel called corona. A place that the municipality offers to infected people who do not have the opportunity to isolate themselves are allowed to live until they recover.
– It was nice that they took care of him in case something happened, he says.
Will not close schools again
To cope with the increased spread of the infection, Norway, among other things, introduced a ban on serving alcohol in the pub after midnight, as well as advice to wear mouth guards on public transport in Oslo. However, Frode Forland does not believe that the country will return to the national closure of the spring, regardless of how the situation develops.
– Probably differently now that we know better what measures are effective. The measures will be more focused at the local level and we will wait to close the schools. There is no indication that it has been particularly effective.
“Towards Sweden’s virus management”
An increase in the number of confirmed cases has also been observed during the summer in Denmark, especially in the Copenhagen area.
– But as long as we can control the outbreaks, test and trace the chains of infection, we can stop them. Tracking infections has been extremely important to us, says Lone Simonsen, a pandemic researcher at Roskilde University.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Denmark closed both schools and borders to curb the coronavirus, but Lone Simonsen does not believe that the same will become relevant during the fall.
– We prefer not to return to the closing. Schools will remain open while sporting and entertainment events and nightlife are regulated. Denmark is on the way for Sweden to handle this virus. It is important to find a balance in the restrictions and Sweden probably has already done that, she says.
