There are no longer any limits to how many we can be with or how close we can be to others. The catering industry can operate at full capacity and it will be easier to travel.
Although the majority of coronary interventions have been abolished and we can live in an almost normal everyday life, the health leaders are concerned with conveying that the pandemic is not over. There are still tips and rules that you should abide by.
– We can celebrate that we have removed some regulations from the legislation, but the virus has not changed over the weekend, says director Bjørn Guldvog in the Norwegian Directorate of Health.
– HAPPY: Health Director Bjørn Guldvog in the Norwegian Directorate of Health believes that there is a lot about corona development in Norway that we can be happy about. Photo: Frode Sunde / TV 2
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Lots to be happy about
In the last 24 hours, 381 corona infections have been registered in Norway. According to Guldvog, that number is no longer so important.
– It is not so interesting now, because we tolerate infection better than before. What is still important to follow is the hospital admissions and vaccine status. But things are going very well in Norway now, so we have a lot to be happy about, he says.
The reopening was a great celebration for many. It was very crowded in the center of the main cities and there was chaos in the queues of the nightclubs.
Guldvog is not worried that we will see an infection flourish afterwards.
– There is no basis for fear now. I think we can stand it and we should be happy that we are back in a more normal everyday life. At the same time, we must continue to use discretion, he says.
– REOPENING: There was a full house at the nightclub Justisen in Oslo on Saturday. Photo: Frode Sunde / TV 2
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These tips still apply
– We can hug others, we can dance and we can go to big events. By and large, everyday life is now much more similar to everyday life before the pandemic came to Norway, says department director Line Vold at the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH).
She points out that the general infection control advice still applies.
– The most important thing is that we stay at home and test ourselves if we are ill, and that we have good cough and hand hygiene, she says.
From Saturday, the obligation to quarantine was abolished for everyone. The obligation to isolate remains regulated, so it means that you must still be at home if you are confirmed infected.
According to FHI five days of isolation is now sufficient if you become infected. If you are fully vaccinated and without symptoms, the isolation period is shortened to two days.
We are also encouraged to have a low threshold to test ourselves for symptoms, regardless of whether we are fully vaccinated or have previously been infected.
The vaccines protect very well against serious illness, and Violence therefore comes with a call:
– The most important advice is to take the vaccine, it protects very well against serious illness. For those who have not been vaccinated, it is extra important to follow the general infection control advice, says Vold.
– INFECTION: The National Institute of Public Health’s Infection Stop app can be a good tool now that the responsibility for infection detection mainly falls on each individual. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB scanpix
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Be your own spores of infection
For the municipalities, the infection tracking work has become much easier. They should concentrate on tracing infections to household members and other people who are similarly close contacts.
The purpose is to make infection detection more targeted to apply only to the most vulnerable, unvaccinated household members and other close persons.
This also means that there is a greater responsibility on everyone in the future.
– If you are infected, or a parent of someone who is infected, you are encouraged to notify other close contacts and encourage testing, writes FHI in their updated infection control advice to the population.
FHIs smittevernråd
This is the National Institute of Public Health’s infection control council in the new phase after the reopening, which is called «normal everyday life with increased preparedness».
- Have good hand hygiene and keep your hands clean.
- Use a paper handkerchief or elbow hook when coughing or sneezing. Throw away the handkerchief and wash your hands afterwards.
Testing and insulation:
- Everyone who is ill should stay home and have a low threshold to get tested.
- Anyone with new-onset respiratory symptoms or other symptoms of covid-19, regardless of vaccination status, is advised to be tested. The same applies to unvaccinated household members or equivalent close to an infected person, and partially vaccinated household members or equivalent close to an infected person. Other unvaccinated close contacts are also recommended to be tested.
- If you test positive on a rapid test, it is recommended to take a PCR test to confirm the test result.
Isolation in case of infection:
- There is a requirement that people who have been confirmed infected with covid-19 must isolate themselves. This also applies to the vaccinated and protected.
Infection tracking:
- If you are infected, or a parent of someone who is infected, you are encouraged to notify other close contacts and encourage testing.
Close contacts:
- Vaccinated family members or similar relatives are not recommended to refrain from contact with others, but should be tested if they develop symptoms.
- Unvaccinated household members and similar close contacts to known infected people are recommended to refrain from contact with others for 7 days or to get tested.
Advice for risk groups:
- Separate advice applies to people in risk groups. A distinction is made between groups with different degrees of risk, and between vaccinated and unvaccinated persons. Unvaccinated people with an increased risk of covid-19 can reduce the risk of respiratory infections by avoiding congestion and keeping their distance.
Other infection control advice:
- Distance and fewer contacts have been a piece of advice throughout the pandemic. Keeping your distance from others where possible can prevent the transmission of respiratory infections, but it is no longer a general recommendation. Local recommendations can be given to keep a distance and reduce the number of contacts, if the infection situation makes it necessary.
- The risk of infection is lower outdoors than indoors. In general, it is also recommended in this phase to ensure good ventilation. In private homes, it is recommended to ventilate regularly or between the use of different groups.
- Mouthpieces have been recommended in several situations where it is not possible to maintain the recommended distance. There is no national recommendation for the use of face masks. Recommendations for the use of face masks can still be given locally, if the infection situation makes it necessary.
Source: FHI / NTB
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Less dangerous
NIPH considers that there will be a risk of increased infection when society is fully reopened.
Here they start the celebration: – A day of joy!
– At the same time, the high degree of vaccination in the population reduces the risk of infection and the risk of developing a serious disease. The vaccines and the good vaccine coverage in the population mean that the epidemic is now less dangerous, says Vold.
Guldvog believes we may see outbreaks in the future.
– For most people, we can shrug our shoulders, live more as normal and enjoy the time we are in. At the same time, it is important to remember that a tenth of the adult population has not been vaccinated. This means that we can have an infection flourishing in some groups, says Guldvog.
Although Norway has gained control of the pandemic, he reminds that the situation is quite different in many other countries.
– We will not end the pandemic until the world has reached its goal. It takes some time, says Guldvog.
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