Preventing Omicron Variant Infection Spike, Norway Implements Partial Lockdown

Illustration of a COVID-19 vaccination center in Norway. (Wikimedia Commons/Premeditated)

JAKARTA - Norway is tightening restrictions and accelerating COVID-19 vaccinations, to limit the spike in the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Monday.

Presenting the fourth round of measures in two weeks, the government announced bans on serving alcohol in bars and restaurants, closing gyms and swimming pools for most users, and stricter rules at schools.

"Undoubtedly, the new variant changes the rules. That's why we have to act fast and we need to act again," Stoere told a news conference, PM Jonas said, quoted by Reuters on December 14.

"For many, this will feel like a lockdown, if not society, of their lives and their livelihoods."

The UK on Monday recorded its first publicly confirmed death globally from the fast-spreading strain.

Norway's new restrictions could cast doubt on the central bank's plans to raise interest rates later this week, DNB Markets said. Norway's currency weakened 0.9 percent during the day as news of the new measures emerged.

To speed up vaccination with booster doses, the government said the armed forces, as well as pharmacies, would assist in the inoculation campaign. At the same time, the quarantine will be applied more broadly, the government added.

Norway recorded record highs both in terms of new COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, partly due to the spread of the Omicron variant, which is expected to become the dominant variant in the coming days.

"A lack of action now can lead to huge negative consequences for society, not only for health services and cities," explains the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI).

Unless effective measures are put in place, the country of 5.4 million people is at risk of having between 90.000 and 300.000 new COVID-19 cases every day from early January, the FHI added.