NIPH Chief Physician Preben Aavitsland points to a number of factors affecting infection rates in the coming weeks. One of which is the Christmas holidays.
On Tuesday, 4041 new cases of infection were reported in Norway in the last 24 hours.
This is 823 less than the same day last week. There is an increasing incidence of infection on Monday in 136 municipalities.
The Chief Physician of the National Institutes of Public Health, Briben Avitzland, cites a number of factors that could affect the number of future victims:
Other things The effect of actions, In both delta variant and omigron. There is more uncertainty around the latter.
– Measures against it are not enough, so it may continue to grow, says Aavitsland.
So far 3394 cases of Omigron variant have been detected in Norway. The FHI said 1334 of them had been diagnosed since Friday.
Not all positive samples are checked for omigrans, so the actual number may be higher in Norway.
– We expect these measures to have a positive effect on the number of new victims, but it is too early to notice such an effect now.
Another thing that will affect the infection rate in the coming weeks Christmas holidays. The FHI hopes that the holiday season will reduce the spread of infections, with many staying home from work and university.
Aavitsland hopes that people will behave at Christmas.
– We think people will mainly follow the recommendations and rules.
He says it is difficult to compare how the infection spreads over other holidays, due to differences in other factors such as variability, season and current activities.
Aavitsland points out that it may take Less testing Due to the holidays, Lack of self-examination And Long response time in labs, As factors affecting infection rates.
Lack of self-examination Now there is a challenge in many municipalities. There is one in the capital Limited number and not enough for everyone, And the municipality should prioritize how they are used.
At the same time, many people enjoy it Takes a long time From the time they suspect a corona infection to ordering a PCR test, until the answer to the test is available.
– Do you worry that people will test themselves less at Christmas and stop testing themselves for fear of isolation?
– There are many uncertainties in the calculation of the number of victims, including changes in who examines themselves and how many people test themselves. So we are very interested in the weekly enrollment figures, says the FHI senior official.
Pressure on the health system is a major reason for this New activities Introduced a week ago.
On Monday, 373 patients with corona disease were admitted to hospital in Norway. This is an increase of 17 patients over the previous day.
Of the patients, 75 are receiving respiratory treatment and 121 are in the intensive care unit.
– Do you think we will see an increase in enrollment in the coming weeks?
– Pressure on the health service is caused by a number of factors: hospitalization for corona, hospitalization for other illnesses, staff not being sick due to corona or isolation, poor access to temporary staff from abroad and problems in transferring patients to nursing homes. .
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