Norway

Norway delays reopening as Delta variant threat looms

cde.news desk 5 July 2021, 14:20 · 1 min read

epa08144899 Norwegian Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, Erna Solberg, speaks at a media conference after the resignation of populist coallition partner Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet) from Norway's four party government coalition, in Oslo, Norway, 20 January 2020. The move will cause Prime Minister Solberg to lose her parliamentary majority. The populist Progress Party's resignation came after a controversy over the repatriation of a so-called 'IS bride' and her children to Norway. EPA-EFE/TERJE BENDIKSBY NORWAY OUT

Norway is delaying the next major step in unwinding restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic to the end of the month at the earliest, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said on Monday.

“There is a risk that the Delta variant will cause a fourth wave of infection in the unvaccinated part of the population, among those who have only received one dose or are in vulnerable groups,” Solberg said.

The World Health Organization has said Delta is becoming the globally dominant variant of COVID-19, raising concerns over whether existing vaccines will work against it.

In Norway, it could become the dominant variant in Norway this month ,the Norwegian health minister has said.

Almost two-thirds of adults have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 37% of adults are fully vaccinated, according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Photo: Norwegian Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, Erna Solberg. EPA-EFE/TERJE BENDIKSBY