Despite an outbreak of the Omicron variant, Norway was added on Saturday to the list of countries lifting their health restrictions. No more masks and physical distancing.
With our correspondent in Stockholm, Frederic False
” This is the day we’ve all been waiting for, now is the time. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre made no secret of his satisfaction when he announced on Saturday February 12 the complete end of anti-Covid-19 restrictions after the lifting of the first measures at the beginning of the month.
The wearing of the mask is therefore abolished as well as the rule of “one meter” of distancing. The tests are reserved for people with symptoms. The obligation to isolate for four days after a positive test has been downgraded to a simple recommendation, and schoolchildren, who must stay at home if they are sick, will be able to return to class after a day without fever.
Norway had already removed most other Covid-19 restrictions earlier this month, such as teleworking or limiting the size of gatherings.
A less lethal variant and a highly vaccinated population
The head of government, however, stressed that “ the pandemic was not over and advised those unvaccinated and those at risk to continue to observe social distancing and wear masks when distancing is not possible. Norway, which imposed several periods of semi-containment on its population during this pandemic, has one of the best records of the Nordic countries with less than 1,500 deaths from Covid-19.
However, the country has not yet reached the peak of contamination linked to the Omicron variant and the number of hospitalizations linked to Covid-19 has increased by 40% over the past week. But in making this decision, she joins her neighbors because the lifting of restrictions was also decided on Wednesday February 9 in Sweden and last week in Denmark. Three countries that made this choice citing the same reasons: the Omicron variant is much less lethal than the others and the population is now widely vaccinated.
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