Corona Virus, Trondheim Municipality | Trondheim defied professional advice and refused injections

The politicians didn’t want the orders, but the message was clear on the streets of Trondheim.

TRONDHEIM (Nettavisen): – It’s the least we can do, Sophie Warns and Frieda Walmann tell Nettavisen about the proposed mask order that politicians in Trondheim discussed – and smashed – on Tuesday.

The message was the same with those we spoke to in Nedre Elvehavn, now known as Solsiden in Trondheim, an old shipbuilding district that now houses shops and restaurants.

Drive and finish it. It’s best done right now and finished before Christmas, say Gurun and Jean, two women in their forties, about bandage requests.

In the nightlife industry, there is great tension associated with the development of infection and fears that more intrusive measures will be necessary.

But after a long debate in the presidency on Tuesday, the majority of politicians in the Trondheim presidency chose to reject the mayor’s recommendation of the Corona rules. The bandage order, which was proposed after professional advice from the mayor, was rejected. An extraordinary meeting of the presidency is now being called for Wednesday.

– Very special mode

The number of infections in Trondheim has increased sharply in recent weeks, from 140 new cases in Week 40 to more than 1,000 now (1,023 cases in Week 44).

– There is an increase across the country, but Trondheim is in a very special situation, Mayor Morten Walden said at the presidency meeting.

Monday’s figures show 59 new infections in Trondheim. 15 people aged 0-10 years, 16 people aged 10-20 years. 533 PCR tests were performed on Monday. The past seven days, the number of infected people was 1036.

In the last 13 days, 853 school-age children and youths were infected, he wrote Nidaros. This means that there is now extensive testing for schoolchildren in the municipality – every day.

Chart: Incidence rate in Trondheim municipality.

Suggested commands

In the face of sharply increasing infection rates, the administration in the municipality of Trondheim has proposed tightening the grip and introducing mandatory bandages in taxis, shops, shopping malls, restaurants and public transport.

The presidency will consider the case on Tuesday. (You can watch the live broadcast of the meeting on Trondheim Municipal TV here).

In the proposal, the municipality announced new measures within 14 days if those measures did not help. The proposal referred to postponed events, a limited number of participants in events, table service only in nightclubs, and the introduction of a traffic light form in schools and kindergartens.

Immediately before the meeting, it became clear that he might go against the majority to postpone the issue.

– We cannot close the adult community when it is in schools and among children there is an infection. We must implement measures that work, said Marte Løvik (Sp). Adresseavisen.

The Labor Party, the Conservative Party, the Center Party, the Socialist Left Party, the Green Party, the Progress Party and the Liberal Party supported Lovik’s proposal to postpone the issue and ask for a new proposal for the new Corona rules.

Infection control measures in Trondheim municipality November 9, 2021

This is the municipal director’s proposal for a decision at the Presidency meeting on November 9, 2021. Actions and recommendations from the announcement will apply until November 23. After two weeks, the presidency will assess the need for further tightening.

Mandate the use of face masks in taxis. The arrangement applies to both the driver and passengers.
Mandatory for bandages in public transport where you can not keep at least one meter to others.
It is mandatory to use face masks in shops/shopping malls, restaurants, religious and philosophical homes and in places of cultural, training, sports and recreational activities where you cannot carry at least one meter. Except for shops/shopping malls, this applies to inside and outside buildings, but not the actual practice of sports or cultural activity
Delegating the use of face masks to clients and employees in hairdressers, skin care, tattooing, piercing services, etc. The request does not apply to customers where face masks prevent treatment.
Children under the age of 12 and adults who cannot wear face masks for health reasons are exempt from the requirement to wear face masks.

Furthermore, the following strong recommendations have been suggested:

All adults are encouraged to limit the number of close contacts in their spare time. This is not a general recommendation to cancel businesses and events, but to reduce the total contact space during the week.
It is recommended to arrange for a home office, as this is appropriate based on the nature of the work to avoid the spread of infection/disease.
Children and adults are advised to avoid participating in social/recreational activities if you live with an infected person. This applies for 7 days from the time an infected person develops symptoms or is diagnosed as infected, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or developed symptoms.
It is recommended that you keep your distance from others in case you develop respiratory symptoms and have a low threshold for testing.
Visiting a nursing home is not recommended if visitors have respiratory symptoms or infection in their home.
It is recommended to facilitate indoor leisure activities for adults mainly in small groups
It is recommended to avoid large events and student gatherings across schools.

Escalation plan:

In two weeks, the presidency will consider this escalation plan:

Postpone events, possibly limiting the number that may be present.
A system for registering guests, notifying and encouraging guests who may have been screened
Reduce the number of special events/gatherings
Table service and seating in restaurants. Low volume.
Introducing the traffic light model in schools and kindergartens.

Source: Trondheim Municipality, meeting documents.

Hopefully the injunctions will bring the numbers down

When Nettavisen spoke to people on the streets of Trondheim before the meeting, there was a clear mood to accept the bandage request.

“It’s OK to bandage now,” says Jan Ivar Breivik, 53. He noted that the recommendation to use face masks on public transport, among other places, was in place, but not everyone followed the advice. He believes that people will follow the order more faithfully than the recommendation, and he hopes that this measure will suffice.

– It would be interesting to see. We are entering Christmas table season, and there are many restaurants here in Solsiden that have been influenced by two Christmas table seasons. I think there’s still a long way to go for politicians taking actions that affect restaurants, and I hope bandages and things like that will reduce infection numbers so that the Christmas table season can go its own way, he says.

– And if the bandage request is not enough?

It’s boring, but you have to do something. Difficult decisions must be made.

Table: Infection rates in Trondheim municipality.

more than double

In recent weeks, Trondheim has seen a sharp increase in cases and has also faced a growing challenge of health service recruitment. The absence is partly due to the absence due to covid-19 and partly due to the absence associated with other circulating respiratory viruses. Residents have been recommended to wear face masks on public transport and in other situations inside the home where at least one meter cannot be away, but the recommendation has only been partially followed up, according to the mayor.

Infection rates have risen sharply in the past two weeks, with the number of infections detected doubling from week 43 to week 44.

On Tuesday, November 2, there was an initial peak of 218 infections. On Sunday, the so-called insider count showed 731 new infections per 100,000 residents in the last 14 days.

More than half of the cases of infection are registered among children and young people who have not been vaccinated or who have received a single dose of the vaccine, according to the municipality, which also sees that adults in a family who have been fully vaccinated are infected.

There has also been a challenge with the spread of infection within some health and care centers.

There are a few cases of COVID-19 that can be seen among fully vaccinated adults, but it has also largely not been tested.

As of November 8, St Olaf Hospital was receiving 14 patients with COVID-19, with two receiving treatment in the intensive care unit. This is the highest number recorded during the pandemic so far.

The hospital chose a yellow level of preparedness due to the backlog of patients ready to be discharged. This is due to the increased number of admissions related to the general increase in respiratory infections.