Hammerfest Municipality registered 132 cases of coronavirus infection between Thursday and Monday. The Municipality expects more cases – it is now extending the strict lockdown until the end of the week.
The corona regulations in Hammerfest are set to expire on Tuesday. However, Mayor Marianne Sivertsen Næss (AP) told news bureau NTB on Sunday night that the measures would be extended.
“We are at the strictest level of measures, so we are completely closed. Unfortunately, we also have to keep schools and kindergartens closed. The regulations will be extended… it is being done in dialogue with the FHI,” she said.
“The safest thing is to have the current measures in place at least until next week,” she said.
A total of 22 new cases were registered on Sunday. Since Thursday, an average of 33 cases has been registered every day.
The infection probably originates from gatherings at a nightclub earlier in May.
Young people infected
“There have been a dozen people who have moved around the Municipality and infected others,” Næss said.
The age group of people between 20 and 29 years of age stands out in the outbreak. There is a high proportion of the British virus variant.
“It is a very serious situation. We have 11,500 inhabitants, and now we have 132 infected people and around 1,000 people in quarantine,” Næss added.
The numbers are rising
She added that the test capacity is good but that it is difficult to handle the number of people who want to be tested.
She believes the infection will increase over the week.
The mayor says the most important thing now is to continue with enhanced infection tracking.
The Municipality will work hard in consultation with neighboring municipalities and national authorities to get control over the outbreak.
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]
Be the first to comment on "Hammerfest extends strict lockdown until next week, keeps schools closed"