The case is continuously updated.
At the press conference, Minister of Health Bent Høie (H) pointed out that the number of seriously ill people is increasing in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. In the UK, infection is increasing among the elderly.
– City after city introduces a curfew. Country after country declares crisis. We did not get there. I hope we manage to keep the infection down and the country open, says Høie.
Line Vold from the National Institute of Public Health then gave an account of recent infection rates, where she says that we have seen a slight increase since September. She also pointed to a disturbing development in our neighboring countries.
– We do not know how the spread of infection will develop. We can risk regional waves, and in the worst case a new national wave, even if the goal is to avoid this. It will be there as a threat for many months to come and there are no simple solutions, says Vold.
Encourages dialogue
At midnight on Wednesday, 16,771 corona-infected people were registered in this country. This is an increase of 169 reported cases in the last 24 hours.
Not since 28 May have so many corona-infected patients been admitted to Norwegian hospitals. On Wednesday, 36 people were admitted, which is an increase of 7 people since Tuesday.
– We can stop a new wave, the problem is to do it without too big a wave of measures, the department director continues.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health encourages everyone to talk about how we can best kill the virus.
– Everyone should participate in the conversation about how we should get through this winter and about which measures are right, says Vold.
– PK: Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Monica Mæland and Minister of Health and Care Services Bent Høie also attended the press conference. Photo: Jil Yngland / NTB
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– Lives can be lost
Recently, several have said that they believe the corona measures are too strict in relation to the effect and severity of the corona outbreak.
Minister of Health Bent Høie (H) used the press conference to remind of the consequences it can have if we fail to keep the infection down.
– If we release the infection, the hospitals will be overloaded. Then other patients who have other diseases will experience not receiving treatment. Then there will be danger to health and lives will be lost, says Høie.
He referred, among other things, to the situation in Hammerfest, where 15 employees have been confirmed infected and many are in quarantine.
– At the turn of the month, March and April, more than 7,000 people were absent from the health sector due to the corona. If we do not retain control of the infection, it quickly enters our hospitals and nursing homes, says Høie.
Defended the corona strategy
On Wednesday, Minister of Health Bent Høie (H) gave answers to those who question Norway’s strategy to combat coronary heart disease.
– Releasing the virus and at the same time protecting the risk groups would be very demanding and put a lot of strain on many people. The risk that we would not succeed would be too great, says Høie.
It was during the government’s press conference on the corona situation on Wednesday that the Minister of Health gave answers to those who wonder why we can not let most people get infected, and only protect those who are at risk.
– When we talk about the risk group, many people think of the oldest and most frail in nursing homes. It is true that the oldest are among the most vulnerable. In the spring, we introduced a moratorium on visits to nursing homes and hospitals to prevent the spread of infection. Patients and relatives experienced this as a great burden, perhaps even greater than we could imagine. To do this again, all over the country and over time, will again make life difficult for the most vulnerable among us, says Høie.
But the Minister of Health also pointed out that there are far more than the elderly who risk becoming seriously ill.
Large load
– Up to 1.6 million people may be in the risk group. These are people with chronic diseases such as diabetes and lung diseases, these are people with cardiovascular diseases, these are people who have or have had diseases such as cancer, says the Minister of Health.
He further says that isolating all these people from infection will be very intrusive.
– This will mean that young people with chronic diseases will not be able to go to school. This will mean that people with cardiovascular disease will not be able to go to work, and this will mean that many people over the age of 65 will have to isolate themselves from the outside world.
Facilitates entry rules
Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Monica Mæland opened the press conference by saying that they are easing entry restrictions for a number of family members outside Norway.
– Today, regulatory changes come into force that provide exemptions from the entry restrictions, so that more family members can come to Norway to visit their relatives, says Mæland.
Exceptions are also made for children and stepchildren over the age of 21 to persons resident in Norway, parents and stepchildren to children over the age of 21 resident in Norway.
– Many, especially children, who have wanted to be visited by grandparents for Christmas and they do now, says Mæland.
She also emphasized that the rules on quarantine apply, and that the other infection control rules must be followed.
– We have always worked to find the balance between infection control and other important societal considerations. If the infection situation indicates that it is justifiable, it will also be gradually opened up for the entry of new groups in the future, says the Minister of Justice.
Concerned about mink infection
Health director Bjørn Guldvog believes that it is worrying that humans and mink can infect each other with coronavirus.
– It is now clear that coronary heart disease is transmitted between mink and humans, primarily from humans to mink, but we have also seen some cases from mink to humans, he says.
In Denmark, around 15 million mink must now be killed. There have also been examples of corona infection on mink farms in the Netherlands and Spain.
– It is worrying that humans and other animals can interact around this virus. This creates greater opportunities for changes in the virus’ properties, says Guldvog.
169 new cases of infection
In the last week, a total of 819 new coronary cases have been reported in Norway, according to preliminary figures from the national reporting system for infectious diseases (MSIS).
A total of 29 corona patients were hospitalized on Tuesday, which is one more than the day before.
FHI has registered 278 coronary-related deaths in this country since March.
Recently, the infection has been high in Oslo. In the last two weeks, 675 cases of infection have been registered in the capital, figures from the City of Oslo show overview. All districts are still “red”.
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