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TODAY IN NORWAY

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday 

Find out what’s going on in Norway on Wednesday with The Local’s short roundup of important news. 

Pictured are the Lyngen Alps.
Read about suspected Omicron cases in Norway, Oslo raising it's preparedness and more in today's roundup. Pictured are the Lyngen Alps. Photo by Anton Lammert on Unsplash

4,045 new Covid cases registered in Norway

On Tuesday, 4,045 coronavirus cases were detected. This is 2,552 more registered infections than last Tuesday. Over the past week, an average of 3,003 infections have been reported per day. The same average a week ago was 1,997 cases. 

READ ALSO: Norway’s new national Covid-19 measures

In Oslo, 762 infections have been recorded. This is 167 more than the same day last week, but 76 fewer than the day before. 

A graph showing the total number of Covid-19 cases in Norway.
Total number of Covid-19 cases in Norway. Source: Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Suspected Omicron cases in Norway

There have been three suspected Omicron cases in Ullensaker. However, they have yet to be confirmed by sequencing. 

“The most important thing now is that those who are infected and their close contacts follow the rules of isolation and quarantine. We expect to have the first results of the tests ready by the end of tomorrow. We report back to the municipal doctor when the results are available,” Line Vold, department director at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, said in a statement.

The three tested positive at Gardermoen airport after travelling from Southern African via stopovers. The travellers who returned the positive tests are currently in quarantine hotels. 

Oslo moves to the highest level of preparedness

Oslo municipality has raised its level of preparedness to the highest level, level three. 

“This means that we again set central crisis management to ensure effective information sharing and coordination of response,” Oslo’s executive mayor, Raymond Johansen, explained at a press conference. 

Johansen also added that the municipality was mulling over enforcing the use of facemasks, which is currently only recommended in Norway’s capital. 

He also added that he would do everything he could to avoid lockdowns and the shutdown of hospitality. 

Vaccine certificate available for use today

From this afternoon, a new version of the Covid-19 certificate should become available, and municipalities going through a spike of infection will be able to use it, Norway’s health minister Ingvild Kjerkol announced. 

The return of the domestic certificate, which was previously scrapped when all measures were lifted at the end of September, comes weeks after it was first announced. 

The reasons for the delays were to pass regulations allowing local authorities to implement the measures and to get all the technical details into place. 

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For members

TODAY IN NORWAY

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday 

Find out what’s going on in Norway on Tuesday with The Local’s short roundup of important news. 

Pictured is Holmenkollen in Oslo.
Read about the interval between doses two and three being shortened and the death of Kåre Willoch in today's roundup of important news. Pictured is Holmenkollen in Oslo. Photo by Michael Ankes on Unsplash

Tributes paid to Kåre Willoch 

The former prime minister and Conservative Party leader Kåre Willoch passed away yesterday aged 93. King Harold, prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre and former PM Erna Solberg were among those to pay tribute to Willoch. 

“He was a very gracious and nice person who was concerned with people and political issues,” Solberg said. 

The former PM pointed to Willoch’s modernisation reform in Norway as his most significant political legacy. 

“The most important thing he did was the modernisation of Norway,” she said. 

Health minister to decide on new Covid-19 measures

New coronavirus measures are on their way in Norway, with the health minister, Ingvild Kjerkol, set to decide on new restrictions following a rise in infections, outbreaks of the Omicron variant and parts of the health service nearing capacity. 

“There will be measures we will notice in our everyday lives,” Kjerkol said to public broadcaster NRK

“The situation is demanding, and that is the reason why we are now looking at new measures. We have a health service that is in full swing, and our goal is to have control of the pandemic, in the form that the municipalities and hospitals are able to provide proper health care,” Kjerkol explained.

READ ALSO: How could Norway’s Covid-19 restrictions be tightened this week?

The minister didn’t reveal any details on what could be announced but said that decisions would be made on Tuesday. 

Coronavirus booster vaccine interval shortened 

The interval between vaccine doses two and three for those aged between 64 and 45 will be shortened by a month, Norway’s health ministry has announced

The interval will now be five months when it was previously six. All adults with serious underlying conditions and those working in the health and care sectors will also have the interval cut. 

One in three think Covid-19 measures are too relaxed

A third of Norwegians feel that the current Covid measures in place in Norway are insufficient and need tightening, according to a survey conducted by Norstat for public broadcaster NRK.

Ten percent said the measures were too comprehensive, and just under 50 percent said that the current level of action was appropriate. 

4,117 new Covid-19 cases in Norway

On Monday, 4,117 new Covid-19 cases were registered in Norway. That is 1,240 more cases than the same day last week. 

As of yesterday, 295 people were hospitalised with Covid-19. 

A graph showing the number of weekly cases in Norway.
The total number of weekly cases in Norway throughout the pandemic. Source: Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
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