The National Institute of Public Health was concerned for the Easter holidays to lead to a sharp jump in infection rates.
Assistant health director Espen Rostrup Nakstad says, however, that he is satisfied, with the decision in hand.
– It is good to see that the numbers do not go up. We may have to wait until Wednesday before we can be completely sure, but if it had been the case that Easter had led to more infection in Norway, we would have had higher numbers now, he says to TV 2.
– Why are the infection rates lower than expected?
– Most people have followed the advice and recommendations that the government put forward before Easter. We have also had fewer trips abroad, at the same time as the municipalities have conducted coronation testing and infection tracking, Nakstad continues.
Relief
Nakstad believes that one should be satisfied with the development of infection, which means that the health authorities do not have to introduce stricter measures.
– It would have been quite difficult to tighten further to get the R number below 1. It looks like we will drop it.
On Monday night, the government lifted several strict corona measures for seven municipalities in Haugalandet. On Saturday, the government also downgraded the level of measures in 19 municipalities in Viken, at the same time as the measures were phased out in 13 other Viken municipalities.
Nakstad says, however, that it takes a little more for the corona measures to be eased in areas with a lot of infection.
– Any reopening will lead to more contact between people, and the R-number, which is now below 1, can then rise again. So it’s important to be a little patient now.
– Do you understand that that patience is starting to get thin?
– We are all very tired of this pandemic. But now it is moving towards brighter times, and more and more people are being vaccinated. This can give us the opportunity to live more normally towards the summer. We should rather use these numbers as motivation.
Vaccine response
On Thursday, FHI will answer whether the AstraZeneca vaccine will continue to be used in Norway.
Nakstad says, however, that a possible green light will not have much to say for the general vaccination pace.
– The deliveries from AstraZeneca are so small compared to the ones we get from the other vaccine companies. But FHI comes back to all this.
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