Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

COVID-19

Why Norway – unlike EU – is not recommending face masks on trains

The European Union has encouraged both passengers and employees on trains and other public transportation to wear face masks, but Norway has not taken the same approach.

Published: 22 July 2020 15:45 CEST
Why Norway – unlike EU – is not recommending face masks on trains
A woman wearing a face mask on a train in Nairobi, Kenya. Norwegian public transport operators do not currently require passengers to wear face masks. Photo: AFP

The European Commission, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and European Union Agency for Railways all advise use of the protective item in their most recent guidelines.

Face masks are advised in situations where it is not possible to maintain a distance of at least 1.5 metres from other people.

Rail personnel should also be advised and trained to use the masks, according to the guidelines.

Passengers on trams and trains in Norway, as well as on the Oslo Metro, are not required to use face masks, however.

“We will follow the recommendations of the Norwegian health authorities at all times. So you must ask them and not us. Sporveien is leaving it up to the health authorities to give travel (health) advice,” said Cato Asperud, head of communications with Oslo tram and metro operating company Sporveien, in comments reported by NRK.

Rail operators Vy and Flytoget also said they would follow the recommendations of national health authorities, according to the broadcaster’s report.

 

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) does not currently advise mandatory face mask use on trains and other public transport.

“In the current epidemiological situation in Norway, wearing face masks to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is not recommended for individuals in the community without respiratory symptoms who are not in near contact with people who are known to be infected,” the health authority states in its review.

“… undesirable effects of face masks include the risks of incorrect use, a false sense of security (leading to relaxation of other interventions), and contamination of masks,” FHI also states.

“If the epidemiological situation worsens substantially in a geographical area, the use of facemasks as a precautionary measure should be reconsidered. Measures to reduce risks during necessary public transport and during mass events, including wearing face masks, should be explored further,” the Norwegian health authority writes in its conclusion.

Airlines SAS and Norwegian do require face masks to be worn on board.

READ ALSO: 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

COVID-19

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus.

Published: 23 December 2022 10:53 CET
Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

In a new recommendation, the agency said that those living in elderly care centres, and those above the age of 80 should from March 1st receive two vaccinations a year, with a six month gap between doses. 

“Elderly people develop a somewhat worse immune defence after vaccination and immunity wanes faster than among young and healthy people,” the agency said. “That means that elderly people have a greater need of booster doses than younger ones. The Swedish Public Health Agency considers, based on the current knowledge, that it will be important even going into the future to have booster doses for the elderly and people in risk groups.” 

READ ALSO: 

People between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and young people with risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, poor kidney function or high blood pressure, are recommended to take one additional dose per year.

The new vaccination recommendation, which will start to apply from March 1st next year, is only for 2023, Johanna Rubin, the investigator in the agency’s vaccination programme unit, explained. 

She said too much was still unclear about how long protection from vaccination lasted to institute a permanent programme.

“This recommendation applies to 2023. There is not really an abundance of data on how long protection lasts after a booster dose, of course, but this is what we can say for now,” she told the TT newswire. 

It was likely, however, that elderly people would end up being given an annual dose to protect them from any new variants, as has long been the case with influenza.

SHOW COMMENTS