Norway: Many of the remaining restrictive measures are lifted

Norway will lift most of the remaining restrictive measures against it COVID-19 with immediate effect, as the continuing increase in coronavirus cases is considered unlikely to put pressure on health services, the country's prime minister announced tonight.
Restaurants will again be allowed to serve alcohol beyond 11pm, teleworking will no longer be mandatory and the current limit of 10 guests in private homes will be lifted, Jonas Gar Stere said in a press conference.

The announcement follows similar decisions by neighboring Denmark and other European countries, including Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands, which have eased or lifted restrictions in recent weeks in a bid to return to normalcy.

Norway entered a partial lockdown in December to combat the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, but most of these measures are no longer deemed necessary, the government said.
"Even if many more people are infected, far fewer are hospitalized. We are well protected from vaccines. "This means that we can relax a lot of measures, even when the infections are growing rapidly," Stere said.

However, the country will maintain basic precautions, requiring people to stay at least a meter away and wear a crowded face mask, disrupting the operation of some businesses, such as nightclubs and entertainment venues.