(Reuters) – The World Health Organization’s chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, said on Friday that the world was not yet at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic as there would be more coronavirus variants.
“We have seen the virus evolve, mutate … so we know there will be more variants, more variants of concern, so we are not at the end of the pandemic,” Swaminathan told reporters in South Africa, where she was visiting vaccine manufacturing facilities with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
In Europe, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Saturday that Norway will scrap nearly all its remaining COVID-19 lockdown measures as high levels of coronavirus infections are unlikely to jeopardise health services.
The Nordic country, which removed most curbs on Feb. 1, will still keep some restrictions for the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. The new rules took effect on Saturday.
“The coronavirus pandemic is no longer a major health threat to most of us. The omicron virus causes far less serious illness and we are well protected by vaccines,” Stoere told a news conference.
Norwegians will no longer need to stay at least one metre (3 feet) apart nor wear face masks in crowded settings. The removal of these measures mean nightclubs and other affected entertainment venues can resume full business.
In addition, infected individuals no longer need to isolate themselves. Instead, they are recommended to stay home for four days.
Just days earlier Sweden scrapped almost all of its few pandemic restrictions and stopped most testing for COVID-19, even as the pressure on the healthcare systems remained high and some scientists begged for more patience in fighting the disease.
Sweden’s government, which throughout the pandemic has opted against lockdowns in favour of a voluntary approach, announced it would scrap the remaining restrictions – effectively declaring the pandemic over – as vaccines and the less severe Omicron variant have cushioned severe cases and deaths.
