That was it! The pandemic is over

The Norwegian Institute of Infectious Disease Control Svenska Dagbladet, SvD, Jan Majlard, 2021-06-06

“It’s over now!" Norway's leading infection control doctor Preben Aavitsland suggests in a post on Twitter that the pandemic is over in Norway. 

"We can start preparing for an everyday life where the corona has very little place in our lives," he writes in an email to Verdens Gang.

A chief physician at Norway's Public Health Agency  Preben Aavitsland submitted overview an overview form the institute describing hospital admissions with covid-19 to his post on Twitter where he writes "This was it." He told Verdens Gang’s TV on Sunday that the wording was sharp.“It was a somewhat sharp statement that things are going very well now. We are in the final sprint with the pandemic in Norway, says Aavitsland. The head of the Institute does not believe that this means that people can lower the guard completely, but he that people can socialize in freer forms outdoors.

Sitting in the park is not bad these days, he says and adds that it is much worse to go to a nightclub or be close to each other in a cramped dormitory. 

And he does not think that we can be completely free from restrictions. “The advice is still to follow the rules that apply in the municipality where you live. If everyone does it now and in the future, we will get rid of the pandemic eventually, says Aavitsland. 

He is supported by  the statistics in his argument. “There are very few who are admitted to hospital and less than a couple of thousand infected who are discovered per week. The numbers are declining rapidly at the same time as more and more people are being vaccinated, Aavitsland explains. 

He believes that local outbreaks will still occur, but points out that this is not a major threat. “We know how to stop them. It usually takes three to four weeks, he explains. He makes a parable of fires: “A fire chief would have said: The forest fire has been extinguished and the danger to people and buildings is over, but there is still some extinguishing here and there and we are on guard all night, Aavitsland adds. 

At the same time, he believes that it may take several years before the pandemic is under control from a global perspective. He mainly points to countries outside the rich part of the world: “It's not over until it's over for everyone. The virus still takes a few million lives” Aavitsland emphasizes. 

Comment: According to Johns Hopkins statistics, no deaths in COVID-19 have been registered in Norway in the last day, five in the last week and 16 in the last month. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/norway (2021-06-12)