In the spring, Norway introduced strict entry restrictions, but later lifted them.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Stockholm Bjørn Guldvog from the Norwegian Health Authority is concerned. “We are currently seeing that the curves are pointing steeply upwards and will soon affect hospital occupancy.” He said on Wednesday. Just two days later, the new Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre presented his compatriots with new restrictions.
“We have to get the pandemic under control. In the past week we had to record several new infection records, “he said on Friday and therefore announced new measures to combat the spread of Covid-19.
“If the situation makes it necessary, municipalities can now prescribe local vaccination certificates, for example to enable sporting events or visits to restaurants,” said the social democratic head of government, who has only been in office for a month. He did not want to rule out the possibility of the certificate requirement being expanded if the pandemic situation worsened.
Tightening also apply to unvaccinated hospital and nursing staff, who in future will have to be tested twice a week. A third vaccination is to be offered to all people over the age of 18 in the coming year. People over 65 are already receiving the booster vaccination now.
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In the spring, Norway introduced strict entry restrictions, but later lifted them. No new measures are currently planned, assured Støre, but did not want to rule them out should the situation worsen. Norway, which until recently came through the crisis relatively well, had to record the highest number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic in the past few days. The seven-day incidence on Friday was 201.
The development is particularly dramatic in Denmark
The small Scandinavian country with its almost 5.4 million inhabitants is not alone with the corona development. After the corona situation in the northern European countries had improved significantly in recent months, the number of infections has risen sharply again in recent weeks. In Finland, with a seven-day incidence of just under 98, the corona pass and limits on attendance at indoor events have been reintroduced.
The development is particularly dramatic in Denmark. Last year, the country was one of the first in Europe to issue comprehensive restrictions with a strict lockdown. After the number of new infections had decreased significantly, also due to high vaccination rates, the government decided to proclaim “Freedom Day” on September 10th of this year. All restrictions have been lifted – no mask requirement, no vaccination certificate, nothing that was different from life in the pre-Corona period.
Apparently it was too early, however. “The disease is starting to have a bigger impact on our society and our healthcare system again. I therefore expect that new initiatives will be necessary to break the chains of infection, ”said the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen last Sunday. Two days later the newfound freedom was over. The country classified Covid-19 again as a “threat to society as a whole”.
“We have to prevent the virus from spreading freely,” she said and announced the reintroduction of the corona passport. With a seven-day incidence of 296, everyone who visits a restaurant, sporting event, or concert since Friday has again had to prove that he or she has been fully vaccinated, recovered, or tested. According to Danmarks Radio, long queues formed in front of the reopened test centers.
Sweden, which made global headlines especially last year with its special route without lockdown or significant restrictions on public life, is currently largely spared from the fourth corona wave. The incidence is just under 52.
In Sweden, some hospitals are again at the limit of their capacity
However, the usually optimistic chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell warned this week against being overjoyed at the low number of infections. The high incidences in Europe are “a wake-up call for Sweden”.
He recalled that Sweden always lagged behind other European countries for a few weeks in the second and third waves. Increasing admissions have been reported from the hospitals in the past few days. Some hospitals are already at their capacity limit again.
It was all the more astonishing when last week the new head of the health authority, Karin Tegmark-Wisell, declared that broad-based testing was “not effective”. The criticism of this statement was not long in coming. “When you test, you find new cases and you can isolate them. This slows down the spread of the virus, ”explained Tom Britton, a professor at Stockholm University. The World Health Organization also recommends broad testing.
The government in Stockholm had to put up with harsh criticism from a commission of inquiry two weeks ago in view of over 15,000 Covid deaths. At the beginning of the pandemic, you reacted “too late and inadequately”, according to the more than 400-page report by the commission. A final report on the work of the government and health authorities to fight the pandemic will be presented in February.
More: Follow all current developments on the coronavirus in our news blog