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

Healthcare workers to be offered a third jab 

At a press conference on Thursday night, health minister Ingvild Kjerkol said that a Covid booster jab would be offered to frontline healthcare workers with lots of patient contact. 

Previously booster jabs have only been offered to over-65s. 

"We will start with those who received the vaccine first. It is also important for me to say that the municipalities and Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) are now working to make plans on how this offer will be rolled out," Kjerkol said. 

When asked by reporters whether the rest of the population would be offered a third jab Kjerkol said the government would only be providing boosters to frontline care workers and those already eligible for now. 

Health minister: No need for national measures

At the press conference, the health minister also said that there was no need to re-introduce any national Covid-19 measures for now. 

"There is no need to introduce national measures now, but it is time to roll up our sleeves again," Ingvild Kjerkol said.

Her comments came after speaking with municipalities currently going through a spike in coronavirus cases earlier on Thursday. 

She added that municipalities shouldn't hesitate to take action if they are experiencing a rise in cases. 

"High infection over time leads to more patients and greater pressure on the municipalities' health services. Therefore, it is very important that municipalities with corona outbreaks do not hesitate to take action and introduce local measures," the health minister said. 

National rules on grades-based admission into secondary schools scrapped 

Earlier this year, the previous government introduced national rules for the free choice of which upper secondary pupils could attend, based on a grades based admission system. The new system was set to be put into practice in Spring 2022.

However, Minister of Education Tonje Brenna has scrapped the idea and said that counties will decide how they admit students into schools. 

"The dilemma with purely grades based admission is that it creates someone who wins and someone who loses the battle for places. I am concerned that all our students should go to a good school and choose the high school they want. Then I think the most important thing is that the counties themselves get to organise it in the way they think is best for their county," Brenna told public broadcaster NRK. 

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Covid-19 infections continue to rise

On Thursday, 1,534 people tested positive for Covid-19 across Norway. This is 388 registered cases more than the average for the previous seven days. 

In Oslo, 245 cases were recorded, 21 fewer than the day before. 

In total, 171 have been admitted to hospital with Covid-19.

A graph showing the total number of Covid-19 cases in Norway. Source: Norwegian Institute of Public Health.