WASHINGTON — All 195 countries have handled the coronavirus pandemic differently from the start. Now, as vaccines protecting against severe illness and death become more accessible every day, some countries are able to drop the lockdowns and return to a semblance of normal life.
But not all reopening plans are made equal. Most global health officials say high vaccination rates are the key to lifting lockdowns—which means what works in one country might not work just yet in others.
Take this tweet for example, which says that "Norway is fully open," and that the country's institute of health said, “The coronavirus thus joins the ranks of other respiratory diseases such as colds and seasonal flu.” The tweet appears to imply that these are reasons to lift pandemic restrictions in other places. We're breaking down these two claims and verifying what's true.
THE SOURCE
- The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI)
THE QUESTION
Is it true that Norway is fully open and has no COVID-19 restrictions?
THE ANSWER
Yes, Norway has entered the final phase of their pandemic reopening deemed "normal daily life with increased preparedness." It's the final step in the country's four-phase reopening plan. Each phase slowly allowed more previously unsafe activities like increasing restaurant capacity and allowing top athletes to return to the field.
Before that, Norway was under, in Prime Minister Erna Solberg's words, "the toughest measures in Norway in peacetime," for approximately 561 days. Among Norwegians over the age of 18, 90.9% have been vaccinated with at least one dose. The country's high vaccination rate protects enough of the population to safely enter this newest phase.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health issued infection control guidance for this final phase, asking that while Norwegians return to normalcy, they continue to keep a distance in some situations, wash hands often and isolate if symptoms arise.
THE QUESTION
Did the Norwegian Institute of Public Health say “The coronavirus thus joins the ranks of other respiratory diseases such as colds and seasonal flu?”
THE ANSWER
No, that quote is the English translation from a line in an article from a Norwegian newspaper, VG. An FHI spokesperson told us the conclusion made in the tweet is a misinterpretation of the interview, and that "this does not mean that illness from coronavirus and the seasonal flu are similar."
In that interview, the FHI assistant director Geir Bukholm explains that the country is in a phase of the pandemic which demands that they view the coronavirus as one of many diseases with seasonal variation—meaning that similarly to the flu, certain months will see spikes and drops in the spread.
Both of these COVID-19 advancements in Norway are a direct result of their high vaccination coverage. It is safer to return to a version of normal life when the risks of hospitalization and death have fallen dramatically.
