Big gatherings in Norway 'unlikely' until next year: health chief
The Local Norway - [email protected]
Published: 16 Apr, 2020 CET.
Updated: Thu 16 Apr 2020 14:23 CET
Norway's health chief has warned business leaders that meetings of between 30 and 100 people will probably not be able to take place in Norway until next year.
Bjørn Guldvog, Director General of the Norwegian Health Directorate, gave his pessimistic assessment during a web seminar organised by the business lobby group, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise.
"If there are going to be physical meetings at a conference, I believe this is unlikely to happen until we have shown that it is possible to get control of the infection for a while with testing and tracing and other such things," he said.
"So I would think that it will be unlikely before the turn of the year. If we're extremely lucky, it might happen at the end of autumn, but I think it's unlikely."
Currently the ban such arrangements has only been extended to June 15, but when contacted by the Dagen newspaper, which first reported his prediction, Guldvog said that businesses needed greater guidance than the rest of society on what to expect.
"When this was said at the NHO webinar there was a need to give NHO companies a clue as to how long the restriction on larger assemblies might last," he said. "However, this assessment involves uncertainty, and if several conditions develop in the right direction, these limitations may also be shorter."
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Bjørn Guldvog, Director General of the Norwegian Health Directorate, gave his pessimistic assessment during a web seminar organised by the business lobby group, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise.
"If there are going to be physical meetings at a conference, I believe this is unlikely to happen until we have shown that it is possible to get control of the infection for a while with testing and tracing and other such things," he said.
"So I would think that it will be unlikely before the turn of the year. If we're extremely lucky, it might happen at the end of autumn, but I think it's unlikely."
Currently the ban such arrangements has only been extended to June 15, but when contacted by the Dagen newspaper, which first reported his prediction, Guldvog said that businesses needed greater guidance than the rest of society on what to expect.
"When this was said at the NHO webinar there was a need to give NHO companies a clue as to how long the restriction on larger assemblies might last," he said. "However, this assessment involves uncertainty, and if several conditions develop in the right direction, these limitations may also be shorter."
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