Norway to impose new restrictions, increase booster vaccination to fight Omicron

Norway has announced new, strict epidemiological rules and measures to increase the campaign of booster vaccination as the Nordic country seeks to avoid a surge in Covid-19 Omicron cases, British-Canadian news agency Reuters reports.
On Monday, December 14, the Norwegian government announced its fourth round of measures in two weeks, the government announced a ban on serving alcohol in bars and restaurants, a closing of gyms and swimming pools to most users and stricter rules in schools etc.
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«There is no doubt – the new variant changes the rules. That’s why we need to act fast and we need to act again,» prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a news conference. «For many this will feel like a lockdown, if not of society then of their lives and of their livelihoods.»
As the country, seeks to increase vaccination with booster doses, the government unveiled that the armed forces, as well as pharmacies, would assist in the inoculation campaign. Norway is setting record highs both in terms of new, daily Covid-19 infections and hospitalisations. It is partly because of the spread of Omicron, which is expected to become the dominant variant in the coming days, Reuters reports.