Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) believes that Norwegian municipalities now have better control over testing and infection tracing, and will thus ease several national coronavirus restrictions.
Among the measures that are being eased is the national measure that limits the working hours of bars to midnight.
Furthermore, a cautious reopening of grassroots sports will begin. There will be some exceptions in the regulations when it comes to the one-meter-distance requirements in some events.
The government will also allow up to 600 people to be present at the same time at outdoor events, divided into groups of up to 200 people.
“We are now in a different situation than when we closed down in March. The municipalities have upgraded their preparedness, and we have more knowledge about the coronavirus pandemic.
That means that we can better target the measures so that the burden on the individual and on society is as small as possible. We can therefore open up for some relief at the national level,” Prime Minister Erna Solberg noted.
New phase
“Our experience during the autumn has shown that we can retain control and reduce outbreaks locally.
Therefore, we now believe that we can go one step further in changing some of the national infection control measures.
The prerequisite is that the municipalities implement strict measures to control the infection,” Solberg said at the government’s coronavirus press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
The Prime Minister believes that Norway’s infection situation still poses a risk, with several local outbreaks.
Bergen and Indre Østfold municipalities have established control over their outbreaks, and now Oslo, Arendal, and Øygarden are taking action to do the same.
“This is a new phase in our strategy to maintain control,” she added.
List of changes
From October 12, the government’s national anti-coronavirus measures will change as follow:
1) A step-by-step reopening of grassroots sports for adults over the age of 20 will start.
2) The national limitation limiting the working hours of bars to midnight will be lifted from October 13.
3) Up to 600 people will be able to gather at outdoor events at the same time, divided into groups of up to 200 people. There must be at least two meters of distance between each group.
4) One empty seat between people will be sufficient at events with fixed seats.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
Be the first to comment on "Norway eases several national anti-corona measures"