The country is heading towards a gloomy Christmas with closures and isolation.
Many came out on Saturday afternoon to do some last-minute Christmas shopping on Regent Street in London before new restrictions.
Christmas has been canceled for many Britons. They are not allowed to buy gifts. They are not allowed to gather for Christmas parties. They are not allowed to travel. All this is due to a new, highly contagious virus variant that is now spreading.
Norwegian authorities are also concerned.
– We have also seen some of the changes seen in the UK virus in the Norway virus, but the changes and combinations are not as numerous as those reported in the UK, writes department director Line Vold at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in a press release.
He said there is no evidence to say that this new virus variant is any more dangerous than the variant we are seeing in Norway.
Boris Johnson spoke at a press conference in Downing Street on Saturday.
Canceling Christmas
In the UK, the government intensified infection control measures starting Sunday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Christmas celebrations should not be wasted, and all non-essential shops should close in London and much of southeast England.
- 16 million people live in the region, which is now at infection protection level 4. That is a third of the population.
- This should stay home. People cannot travel in or out of this area. They are also not allowed to spend the night outside the house.
- Everyone in the UK can only see friends and family on Christmas Day, “Christmas Eve” in the UK.
- Shops, gyms, recreational facilities and other services deemed non-essential to the public must remain closed.
- People should work from home if they can.
This was the message repeated across Britain’s front pages on Sunday: Christmas has been cancelled.
– We have no control
– British health authorities have no control over the highly contagious new variant of the coronavirus, British Health Minister Matt Hancock warned Sky News on Sunday afternoon. He called on all Britons in the worst affected areas to “act as if they have the virus”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday canceled Christmas for many Britons. All non-socially critical shops had to close, and Christmas parties were cancelled. Here from Regent Street in London.
Notify WHO and EU
The country has notified WHO and EU countries about the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 spreading in South East England.
A new virus variant spreading in South East England in the past week is said to be 70 per cent more infectious, but does not cause more serious illness, than the original virus variant. England is now imposing extra strict restrictions in areas where the virus has been detected.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock left Downing Street on Wednesday. London and areas in southern England are now in full lockdown.
Minister of Health and Care Bent Høie
Norway is considering further tightening
On Sunday, it became known that Norwegian health authorities were also considering further restrictions to avoid the introduction of new virus variants into Norway.
The mutation has been detected in samples from 9 people in Denmark, as well as in the Netherlands and Australia. This variant has so far not been found in Norway. The Public Health Institute is monitoring the situation closely, according to one of its reports press release from the Norwegian government.
Currently, there is talk that the Norwegian Health Directorate will “strengthen information on quarantine rules” for travelers from the UK. It is also considering whether to offer PCR tests to people who have arrived from the UK in the last 14 days, as well as tightening quarantine exemption rules for travelers from the UK.
– It is important that we act quickly to avoid this virus variant spreading further domestically in Norway. It is important for anyone arriving from the UK in the last 14 days to comply with quarantine rules. We have a strict entry policy in place, but are currently considering whether it is necessary to implement further policies, said Bent Høie, Minister of Health and Care.
At the same time, several countries stopped all air traffic from the UK:
On Saturday, the Netherlands were the first out, followed by Belgium on Sunday. AFP reported. As if that weren’t enough, German news magazine Der Spiegel also reported that Germany is also considering the same thing.
It is now assessing the risks for Norway
The Public Health Institute is now carrying out a risk assessment in Norway, and said it was monitoring the situation closely, along with similar institutions in the Nordics and Europe.
Municipalities were asked to be alert to infections from the UK and record them in samples sent to laboratories. In addition, they intensified monitoring of virus variants in medical microbiology laboratories and collected relevant samples from these laboratories.
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