Norway imposes new restrictions to halt third coronavirus wave
Norway’s prime minister Erna Solberg on Sunday said that the country will impose new restrictions to prevent a resurgence in the spread of the coronavirus.
The government has estimated that Norway’s average number of people that one infected person will pass the virus on to stands at 1.3.
“We see more signs of a new wave of infections. I ask you not to have any visitors at home. Wait a fortnight before inviting anyone home or visiting others” Solberg said, urging Norwegians to put their social lives on hold for the next two weeks.
Under the new rules, shops, kindergartens and elementary schools will remain open. Middle schools and high schools will remain open but will use more remote learning than currently. Earlier, the government announced that university lectures were suspended.
All travel for private purposes is now discouraged. Solberg citied the emergence of the more contagious variant of the virus first identified in Britain as one of the reasons for the new wave of infections. On Thursday, Oslo imposed mandatory COVID-19 tests for all people entering Norway from abroad, to stop the spread of the new COVID variant.
