Worry about a new corona wave
Norway prohibits serving of alcohol because of Omikron
“Now it’s serious,” says Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Photo: Britta Pedersen / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Alcohol is taboo in restaurants, pubs and hotels for four weeks. The reason are concerns about a new corona wave. The Norwegian Health Institute warns of up to 300,000 Omicron cases per day.
Immense Omikron worries have prompted the Norwegian government to tighten the corona measures in the country a good one and a half weeks before Christmas.
“Now it’s serious,” said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on Monday evening at a press conference in Oslo. Among other things, there is a complete and nationwide stop when serving alcohol: For four weeks it will not be allowed to drink alcohol in restaurants, pubs and hotels, said Støre.
There are also stricter rules for public events, in cultural life and for organized leisure activities. Those who can work from home should do so, said Støre. Universities and vocational schools are to switch to online teaching.
The use of masks will be expanded to other locations. According to the government, all regulations come into force on Wednesday night and initially apply for four weeks – that is, over the entire holiday period.
90,000 to 300,000 Omicron cases per day
The tightening of the measures follows warnings from the national health institute FHI of a dramatically deteriorated Omikron situation. The variant will soon dominate in the country and will cause a wave in December with many sick people and hospital admissions as well as a significant burden on the health system and society, according to a risk assessment by the authority.
According to a preliminary FHI scenario, it could be estimated that between 90,000 and 300,000 new Omicron cases per day could occur in just three weeks if measures did not significantly slow the epidemic. However, the agency pointed out that such calculations should be interpreted with caution because of the great uncertainty about the most important properties of the virus variant.