Outbreaks appear to be exacerbated during “social gatherings” – VG

During Easter, young people met both outdoors and indoors in Moss and Halden.

There are now outbreaks of infections among young people in both municipalities, and on Tuesday both municipalities chose to close the upper secondary schools in the next few days to get control of the situation.

Many young people gathered

In Halden, there is an outbreak of infection among young people aged 17 to 20 years. IN a press release about the school closure on Tuesday night, the municipality writes that young people have been gathered both at each other’s homes, in cars and outdoors at Easter.

According to the municipality, there are four young people in particular in many places.

– On Maundy Thursday, there have been gatherings at Venås, in Svinesundparken and by Sauøya. On Easter evening, there has been a gathering at Høvleriet and Svinesundsparken. All these places we know for sure that there have been infected present. Therefore, it is especially important that those who have been to these gatherings make sure to be tested, says municipal chief physician Kjersti Gjøsund in the press release.

– Has spread further in different gangs

In Moss, at least 15 upper secondary students have been confirmed infected during Easter, and 14 of these can be linked to social gatherings. It writes Moss Avis.

– We know that there have been two parties where there has been an infected person. Then the virus has spread further in different gangs, says Birk Juul Aschjem, Russian president in Moss to the newspaper.

On Tuesday, Moss municipality decided to close high schools the next days.

Municipal chief physician Kristian Krogshus will not tell the newspaper whether there is talk of parties or not, but says the infection trace shows that there have been several social gatherings among young people.

– We see that several of the young people have met many during Easter, and together there are many close contacts, he says to Moss Avis.

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Expect an increase in infection in the next few days

Krogshus believes there is reason to expect that infection rates will increase in the next few days, and encourages students to get tested.

– It is crucial that students who have had contact with each other test themselves as soon as they can. Together with infection tracing and quarantine, testing is the most important tool we have to get an overview of the infection situation and stop the spread, he says to Moss Avis.

In Halden, infection has been detected among several young people both Monday and Tuesday this week, and the municipality expects that the number of infections will increase in the next few days.

– By keeping the students at home for a few days, we ensure a better overview of the situation and we limit the risk of further spread of infection, says Gjøsund in the press release from the municipality.

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