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

Rise in Covid-19 hospitalisations 

Monday saw a sharp increase in the number of people hospitalised with Covid-19 in Norway. As of Monday, 225 people were admitted to hospital with coronavirus, an increase of 35 compared to Friday. Out of those, 35 patients were on respirators, and 53 were in intensive care. 

Norwegian's less optimistic about the country's economy

Overall, Norwegians still believe the country's economy will be robust next year. Still, rising interest rates and high electricity prices are dampening expectations for their own personal finances, according to a survey by Finans Norge. 

The survey recorded people's expectations of their own personal economy, as well as the financial state of the country too. 

"In the previous survey, we saw a record high belief in the country's economy going forward. Now, this has fallen somewhat, and we see that people no longer have as much faith in their own finances next year. This may be related to both interest rate increases, high electricity prices and uncertainty about how the changes in the state budget will affect households," Idar Kreutzer, CEO of Finans Norge, said. 

A string of traffic accidents cause queues into Oslo 

Several traffic accidents in and around Oslo on Tuesday morning meant motorists faced queues to get into the city. 

Four cars were involved in a collision in Asker on the E18 entering Jansrud, with another accident on the E18 heading northbound with queues expected between Padderrudvannet in Asker and Lierbakkene. 

Young people are less happy than before

Analysis of research by the University of Oslo has found that young people's happiness has dropped drastically in the ten years from 2009 to 2019. 

Those aged between 15 and 39 saw the most significant declines in happiness and quality of life. 

READ ALSO: How happy are foreign residents with their quality of life in Norway?

Professor Ottar Hellevik at the University of Oslo has said that the findings were unexpected. 

"We had not expected the young to sink below the elderly in perceived quality of life and feeling of happiness," Hellvik told public broadcaster NRK. 

1,761 Covid-19 cases 

In the last 24 hours, 1,761 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Norway. This is 229 more than the same day last week. In the last seven days, an average of 1,700 infections has been registered daily. The same average one week ago was 1,396. 

The total number of Covid-19 cases in Norway. Source : Norwegian Institute of Public Health.