FHI believes Norway can avoid a new wave of infection
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) believes that Norway will probably experience several minor peaks in the future, but that a larger wave of coronavirus infection can be avoided.
“What we hope for in the future is that we can stop smaller outbreaks and not get a major new infection peak,” says Frode Forland, a director at FHI.
He envisions a rocky road ahead where several smaller outbreaks must be fought, but where there is no need to use the “big sledgehammer.”
“We can use the little hammer,” says Forland.
FHI has previously feared that the virus may recover sharply after the first wave of infection has come under control, and that wave number two may become even more powerful.
But today we know more about how the infection can be kept under control, while at the same time the test capacity is significantly strengthened, explains Forland.
“What we have done has shown that it is possible to beat down the infection,” he says.
He nevertheless makes reservations that the virus may change and become more contagious.
Forland makes it clear that FHI does expect a spread of infection since the borders in Norway is too porous.
“We won’t eradicate this virus. And especially now when we open up for more travel, there is a greater risk that the infection will return,” says Forland.
“We are not Iceland or New Zealand,” he says.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
