Nakstad: It may be necessary to introduce a lockdown if the measures do not work

Espen Rostrup NakstadPhoto: Berit Roald / NTB

According to the Norwegian Directorate of Health, a full or partial lockdown may be necessary if the current measures do not reduce the infection.

“There is still great uncertainty associated with the properties of the omicron variant. We do not rule out that there may be a need for stricter measures,” assistant health director Espen Rostrup Nakstad told the newspaper Dagbladet.

The closure of kindergartens and a ban on events and gym operations are among the measures the Norwegian Directorate of Health believes may be relevant if the current measures do not work well enough, the newspaper VG writes.

“If the situation develops rapidly in an even more serious direction, further measures may be necessary. This may mean shutting down society in whole or in part,” the Norwegian Directorate of Health wrote in its latest professional assessment before the last measures were introduced on Thursday.

New evaluation in two weeks

The new measures will be in place for four weeks but will be reconsidered in two weeks.

Nakstad believes it will take some time before we will be able to see if the measures have any effect.

“As early as Wednesday this week, people began to change their behavior and wear face masks. Then it can take another week after that before we see a change in (hospital) admissions, so, a total of 14 days,” he noted.

The government has introduced measures at the national level, but there may still be other measures at the regional and municipal levels.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (AP) does not rule out new measures but hopes to avoid a new lockdown.

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

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