Partying in Norway: Covid-19 cases plunge after the country gets rid of all restrictions
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The autumnal drizzle is falling on Norway, and the days are getting shorter, but if you were able to take a walk along the streets of Oslo, you would feel as if you’re in an alternate reality compared to the lifes in may other countries, including Brazil.
There are no masks in sight, no talk of vaccine passports, no social distancing markers on the ground, and people are meeting their family and friends for a meal, a movie, or a concert.
The only indication that the pandemic ever happened is that a couple of Covid-19 testing facility cabins at public places where staff wear face masks.
Other than that, Norwegians have reclaimed their lifes after the last of their Covid-19 restrictions were confined to the dustbin by the end of September.
But the best news of all is that Covid cases and deaths there are dropping at a rapid rate even though the rules have been eased — following a similarly positive trend in neighboring Nordic nations that have also scrapped all Covid-19 rules.
And, despite their dismal weather, the Scandinavian countries that have done away with their rules are performing far better in avoiding deaths than many other developed nations.
Any fears of a rise in cases since the reopening in Norway have been slapped back by the early indications in infection numbers. Cases have plummeted 40% in the short time that Norway has reopened and new daily cases have dropped by over 50% over the last two weeks.
And, unlike many other nations that are reopening, Norway will not order its citizens to show proof of vaccination or a negative test result to enter nightclubs, bars and restaurants.
Sixty-seven per cent of the population are fully vaccinated and a further 10% have had the first dose, according to the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford.
Norway is one of three Nordic nations that has scrapped all Covid-19 rules in the past few weeks – along with Sweden and Denmark.
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