Bergen changes quarantine rules for close contacts

Bergen authorities decided that they would no longer treat all corona cases as omicron infection cases. Thus, close contacts must no longer be automatically quarantined for ten days.

Instead, a specific assessment will be made in each individual case as to whether it is probable that it is a case of omicron infection, the Bergen City Council stated in a press release on Friday.

The most important change this entails is that all close contacts are no longer subject to a ten-day quarantine, the newspaper Bergens Tidende writes.

The City Council has thus decided that Bergen will follow the regulations adopted in some of the surrounding municipalities.

Stricter rules than the national ones

The regime that applies to suspected omicron cases will continue to apply in Bergen, but it will not be the case that all cases of infection are considered cases of the omicron variant. Where there is no suspicion of omicron, Bergen will implement stricter rules compared with the national regulations.

“This means that household members, regardless of their vaccine status, can not test themselves out of the quarantine, but must implement the quarantine in accordance with local regulations,” City Councilor for the Elderly, Health, and Volunteering Beate Husa noted.

Record high infection rates

The reason behind the strict rules is the demanding infection situation in Bergen, municipal chief medical officer Trond Egil Hansen explained.

“There is a need for stricter quarantine rules than those in the national regulations. We have record-high infection rates, and it is uncertain to what extent the omicron variant has spread in Bergen and the region,” he said.

Exceptions for some

At the same time, quarantine exceptions are made for socially essential personnel.

Health personnel who are critical for the health and care service, as well as other socially essential personnel, can in special cases be exempted from the quarantine provision during working hours – after individual assessment and agreement with the employer – it is stated.

The rule change from the City Council has been announced, among other things, after Helse Bergen decided that it would not follow the special quarantine rules if its employees became infected.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

Do you have a news tip for Norway Today? We want to hear it. Get in touch at [email protected]