Pubs, bars and hotels in Norway are prohibited from serving alcohol to avoid crowds.
The omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in the country, healthcare is becoming increasingly pressured, and some forecasts speak of hundreds of thousands of infected people in the coming weeks.
The Norwegian government is banning all alcohol serving in the country's restaurants and bars as a measure to reduce the spread of the virus. Until now, there has been a ban on serving alcohol after midnight, but this is now being tightened.
This is serious, emphasizes Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
”"It hasn't been many days since we introduced new measures, but since then the infection has increased sharply," he said at a press conference, according to the NTB news agency.
The Swedish Institute of Public Health (FHI) earlier on Monday recommended a broad ban on serving food.
”"We believe that we are in a very serious situation due to the very rapid increase in the number of omicron cases in other countries, and which we are also seeing the beginning of here in Norway," said Director General Camilla Stoltenberg at a press conference, after a meeting with, among others, Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol.
The number of cases with the omicron variant more than doubled between weeks 48 and 49 in Norway, according to figures from FHI, which predict continued increased spread of the infection.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre also warned of new orders, citing that the "rules of the game" have changed.
According to a calculation model fAccording to FHI, in three weeks there could be between 90,000 and 300,000 new cases of infection daily, with a risk of between 50 and 200 new hospital patients every day unless the spread of infection slows down significantly.
”If we don't have measures that work quickly, we could end up in that situation within a few weeks,” says FHI Director General Camilla Stoltenberg.
”"The Omicron variant is establishing itself in Norway and will soon become dominant. This will significantly increase the spread of infection," FHI writes in its report.
Last week, 660 people were registered as infected with the omicron variant in Norway, compared to 293 the week before. In total, 958 cases of omicron have been detected in the country.
On Sunday, 331 COVID patients were hospitalized, the highest number so far in Norway. However, the proportion of people infected with the delta variant who need hospital treatment is lower than last year due to the vaccines, according to Deputy Director of Health Espen Rostrup Nakstad.
According to him, the Christmas holidays are in themselves a period with less risk of infection because schools are closed, but he points out that many people instead gather at home to celebrate Christmas.
”"We urge everyone to be sure that they are healthy," he told NTB.
Seven percent of all people over the age of 45 in Norway are unvaccinated for COVID-19, but they make up 40 percent of those treated for the disease in Norwegian hospitals, according to FHI.
Source: TT
