The government announced that an additional 500 million will be set aside for the municipalities’ compensation scheme. 750 million have already been made available. The mayor of Tromsø estimates that his municipality will receive 5-6 of these millions.
– We need 100 million. We need it now. It must be in place quickly, it was a cafe owner who called here and cried in despair. The sum they put on the table is ridiculous, Wilhelmsen tells NTB.
He is aware that the austerity measures are perceived as difficult in a Tromsø with low infection, but he asks the population to follow the advice and rules that come.
– If it had been bright red in Tromsø, do you think that Oslo and the other big cities would have agreed to be closed down? asks the Tromsø mayor.
Think people follow the rules
He does not fear that the people of Tromsø will give up and commit mutiny against the infection control rules.
– The people of Tromsø have listened to the authorities, we have been on and in quarantine when we were in quarantine. We have worn bandages when it has been recommended, kept the one-meter rule and done everything all the time, says Wilhelmsen.
He thinks it is strange that increased pressure on the municipalities’ tracking services was highlighted as an argument for national measures now.
– With us, we are fully up to date. UNN, which takes care of the entire region, takes away the tests that are done daily, says Wilhelmsen.
The closure comes at a time when Tromsø is in the middle of the high season for winter tourism. The mayor believes the measures will affect many industries.
– It is the fishing industry, the meat production, the city’s breweries. This has dramatic consequences. If you only take the hotel beds in Tromsø, an industry with a broken back, the money presented will not even cover a day, says Wilhelmsen.
Went to Ålesund
Tromsø, like Trondheim, was highlighted by Minister of Health Bent Høie (H) when he presented the new national measures on Tuesday. The Minister of Health said there that he understands that the measures can be difficult to accept in places with little infection.
– That’s my concern, and. I understand very well that the strict national measures are perceived as difficult. But that would have been said in Ålesund a couple of days ago and, said Høie and pointed out that Ålesund had to shut down after a disturbing development of infection in a short time.
In Trondheim, mayor Rita Ottervik (Labor Party) before the measures were made known warned that they may be difficult for her residents to cope with.
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