Municipality In Oslo Region Locked Down Over 2 Deaths From Mutant COVID-19 Strain -Reports

MURMANSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2021) Nordre Follo, a municipality in the Oslo region, was locked down after two people died of COVID-19 caused by the UK-linked mutant strain in a local care home, media reported on Friday.

According to the NRK broadcaster, the decision was made on the recommendation of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Residents were asked to not leave the municipality, while schools and kindergartens were closed after the UK-linked strain of the infection had entered the area, the broadcaster said.

According to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, a coronavirus outbreak recently erupted in the nursing home in Nordre Follo, possibly spreading to a kindergarten as well.

At the same time, experts did not find that the deceased persons were in contact with any arrivals from the UK. The institute noted that the UK variant spreads faster, but does not cause a more severe case of the disease.

The mutant strain was detected by UK health authorities in mid-December, prompting the government to impose a new lockdown and many other countries to close the borders with the United Kingdom. Preliminary data suggests that the new variant is up to 70-percent more infectious than the original strain, but evidence lacks as to whether it is more deadly or harder on symptoms.