OSLO (Reuters) – Norway must for the time being maintain its most recent restrictions on society to contain the spread of the coronavirus, and needs at least another three weeks to make an assessment, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said on Wednesday.
European countries are grappling with how to contain the spread of the disease at the same time as their inhabitants want to celebrate Christmas and New Year.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel. We must hold on,” Solberg told a news conference.
Norway’s 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants was 150.9 as of Tuesday, the fourth-lowest in Europe behind Iceland, Finland and Ireland, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
But there are regional disparities and authorities are most concerned about the situation in the capital Oslo and other major cities.
On Nov. 6, Oslo shut down theatres, cinemas, training centres and swimming pools to contain the spread of the coronavirus, with bars and restaurants no longer able to serve alcohol, leading to many establishments closing down altogether.
(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche, editing by Terje Solsvik)
