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Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Friday 

Frazer Norwell
Frazer Norwell - [email protected]
Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Friday 
Rjukendefoss, Hemsedal, Southern Norway. Photo by Yente Friederichs on Unsplash "

Find out what’s going on in Norway on Friday with The Local’s short roundup of important news. 

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Government press conference 

The government will hold a press conference at midday following weeks of rising Covid-19 infections. 

It is unclear what will be announced at the conference. Still, reports in the Norwegian media indicate that there could be a change in testing strategy as a number of municipalities are said to be struggling with demand. 

Minister of Health and Care Services Bent Høie, Director of Health Bjørn Guldvog and Assistant Director of the National Institute of Public Health Geir Bukholm will be present at the conference.

Another new infection record 

On Thursday, 1,415 new cases of coronavirus infection were registered across Norway. This is a new record for daily infections and is the second day in a row that record-high infections have been recorded. 

The figure for Norway is 594 cases more than the seven-day average of 821. 

In Oslo, 333 new cases of infection were registered, a decrease of 55 from the previous day. 

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According to figures from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), 65 patients have been hospitalised with Covid-19, and 15 are receiving intensive care. 

READ ALSO: Norway enters fourth Covid-19 wave, warns health chief

Total number of Covid-19 cases in Norway. Source: NIPH

Test capacity chaos in the municipalities 

Several municipalities in Norway have reported that testing and infection tracking services are under incredible pressure following a rise in infections and the beginning of the school year in Norway. 

Bergen, Oslo and Molde are some of the municipalities said to be struggling with capacity. 

Health Minister Bent Høie told morning news program NRK nyhetsmorgen that he had heard from a number of municipalities that have seen a surge in demand for testing following the beginning of the new school year and schools returning to, more or less, pre-pandemic teaching practices

The health minister added that changes to the current testing system in Norway could be on the way. 

Final Norwegian evacuation flight out of Afghanistan

A final flight evacuating people out of Afghanistan to Norway will take off later today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has told press agency NTB. 

So far, around 1,100 Norwegians and Afghans seeking asylum after the Taliban seized control of the country have been evacuated from Afghanistan. 

In total, there have been 13 flights between Norway and Afghanistan aimed at evacuating citizens and refugees. 

Several countries will be ending their evacuation from Kabul today. Last night at least 85 people, mostly Afghans, died in a suicide bomb attack on the airport in Kabul and a nearby hotel. 

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