Norway introduces 10-person limit on gatherings in homes due to Covid rise

8 December 2021, 12:14

Finland Nobel Peace
Finland Nobel Peace. Picture: PA

The measures take effect at 12.01am on Thursday and are set to last for four weeks.

The Norwegian government is introducing a 10-person limit for gatherings at private homes to counter a rise in Covid-19 cases although the number will be increased to 20 on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

It is also capping attendance at public events without assigned seating at 50.

The government also said it was advising people in Norway to work from home when possible and reintroducing a social distancing requirement calling for 1m between restaurant customers.

Face masks will be mandatory where the distance requirement cannot be met.

The measures take effect at 12.01am on Thursday and are set to last for four weeks, the government in Oslo said.

“We consider the situation as being serious. Both Delta and Omicron infections are increasing in Norway. The number of people who are admitted to hospitals and intensive care units is increasing,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said.

Camilla Stoltenberg, the head of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, said during a news conference with the prime minister that among the infection trends the government monitors, “much points in the wrong direction”.

“Unfortunately, the coronavirus will also cause a lot of infection and serious illness this winter, perhaps more than ever before in this pandemic in Norway,” Ms Stoltenberg said.

“We have already seen this with the Delta variant, and it will probably get worse with the O
micron variant,” she said.

The Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony scheduled to take place on Friday at Oslo City Hall will be scaled down, with fewer guests and participants required to wear face masks, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.

Finland Nobel Peace
Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Murato will give an online press conference due to Covid measures (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

The winners of the 2021 peace prize, journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia, plan to attend the ceremony.

The two shared the prize for fighting for freedom of expression in countries where reporters have faced persistent attacks, harassment and even targeted killings.

A Thursday press conference featuring the pair will take place online “due to Covid restrictions”, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.

In neighbouring Sweden, authorities recommended that employers give their workers the opportunity to work from home. Starting on Wednesday, face masks were required on public transport when crowding cannot be avoided, Swedish authorities said.

Health Minister Lena Hallengren told Swedish broadcaster SVT the government was prepared to order more public health measures at short notice.

“So far, Sweden has a low spread of infection, but we do not want a more difficult situation,” Ms Hallengren said.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

South Africa Bus Crash

Girl, 8, the sole survivor as 45 die in bus crash off South Africa bridge

A spokesman has denied reports the sausage dog could be banned.

The wurst news is over: Germany denies claims of sausage dog ban

Israel Palestinians Britain Aid

UN top court orders Israel to open more land crossings into Gaza

Greece Confidence Vote

Greece’s government survives no-confidence motion called over rail disaster

Israel Palestinians UN Security Council

Russia ‘abolishes’ monitoring of sanctions on North Korea with UN veto

Firefighters at the scene of a bus crash in Limpopo

Bus falls from bridge in South Africa and erupts into flames, killing at least 45 and leaving child, 8, as lone survivor

Music-Green Day UN

Green Day to headline UN-backed global climate concert

Sam Bankman-Fried

FTX founder Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for crypto fraud

France Valentino

Former Gucci designer Alessandro Michele named Valentino creative director

Russia Shooting

Russia arrests another suspect in concert hall attack that killed 143

American Easter egg

White House’s annual Easter egg roll to be attended by 40,000 people

Barbers in Paris

Proposal to ban discrimination over a person’s hair passes first legal hurdle

Mahmoud Abbas

Palestinian Authority names new government following pressure to reform

Arvind Kejriwal

Opposition leader Kejriwal locked up for further four days, court rules

Resident clears rubble from home

Russia wears down Ukrainian defences with missile and drone attacks

Pope Francis

Pope urges priests to avoid ‘clerical hypocrisy’ in Maundy Thursday speech