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

Frazer Norwell
Frazer Norwell - [email protected]
Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday 
(FILES) In this file photo taken on July 30, 2021 Norway's Karsten Warholm competes in the men's 400m hurdles heats during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. - Norway's Karsten Warholm has been named Male World Athlete of the Year during the World Athletics Awards 2021 on December 1, 2021. (Photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP)

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

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NIPH fear reduced vaccine effectiveness against Omicron 

Following the discovery of the Omicron variant, health authorities and experts worldwide have been trying to work out how effective current vaccine technology is against the new variant. 

Geir Buckholm, infection control director at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), has said that with the current information available, there are some fears that vaccines are less effective at protecting against mild and moderate disease caused by the Omicron variant. 

"With the information we have, there is a great danger that the vaccines protect less against mild and moderate disease. This is because there are major changes in the areas of the virus where neutralising antibodies must bind," he explained to newspaper VG

READ ALSO: Norway records first Omicron Covid-19 variant cases

He added that he hoped that the vaccines offered better protection against those with serious illnesses. 

People who attended two Oslo venues asked to test themselves due to Omicron fears

Oslo's health authorities are asking everyone who attended Louise Restaurant & Bar on Friday, November 26th between 11pm and midnight on Friday and the Old Irish Pub at Majorstua on Saturday, November 27th between 10pm and 1am to take a Covid-19 test. 

The reason for this is a suspected outbreak of the Omicron variant in the capital. Around 30-40 people have tested positive for Covid, and it's suspected that they may be infected with the Omicron variant. The NIPH is testing samples to confirm whether it is the Omicron variant or not. 

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"Based on the fact that one of those infected came from a trip from South Africa, and considering so many have been infected, Omikron was suspected," Tine Ravlo, assitant district doctor, told public broadcaster NRK

Those who have been to these places are being encouraged to stay home until they take a test. 

Norwegian hurdler named World Athlete of the Year 

Norway's 400m hurdler Karsten Warholm has entered the record books by becoming the first Norwegian to be named World Athlete of the Year by the International Athletics Federation. 

The award caps of a stellar year for the 25-year-old in which he secured Olympic gold with what's been dubbed one of the greatest Olympic track performances of all time and was also named Athlete of the Year in Europe. 

3,780 new Covid-19 cases

Over the last 24 hours, 3,780 new coronavirus cases have been detected in Norway. This is 777 more infections than the daily average during the previous seven days, which is 3,003. 

Overall, this is 795 cases less than the same day last week. However, the figure for that day was artificially inflated by delays in registering the cases. 

In Oslo, 1,075 infections have been recorded. This is a daily record. However, the high number of infections registered may be due to a delay in reporting older cases. 

Total number of Covid-19 cases. Pictured is a graph from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health showing the total number of Covid-19 cases in Norway.

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