Corona virus COVID-19 is still a danger to humans. However, in Norway, the scale of the severity of the Corona virus is said to be starting to decrease. Director of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), Geir Bukholm, said that the Corona virus, especially in his country, could already be included in the same category as flu and similar respiratory diseases.
"We are now in a new phase where we have to look at the Corona virus as one of several respiratory diseases with seasonal variations," he said.
The Norwegian Ministry of Health is currently researching whether COVID-19 is still a dangerous disease. But with the words of one of his officials, it is clear that the level of danger of COVID-19 will be lowered from before.
He said the severity of COVID-19 could be likened to the flu or a cold because the majority of people who are most at risk of contracting the Corona virus are currently fully vaccinated.
"This is because the vast majority of those who are at risk are already protected. Even though the infection is still circulating, the number of patients in the hospital remains low. Therefore, the Corona virus will not pose a heavy burden to health services. Those who are vaccinated may be infected and have symptoms, but a large majority will have mild symptoms," he said.
However, he noted that the Corona pandemic is far from over. Because there are still quite a lot of countries whose population vaccination rates are still lacking.
"The Corona pandemic is not over as long as it still exists in the world and in countries where vaccination rates are still low. As long as this Corona virus disease is still spreading throughout the world, there will still be a pandemic," continued Bukholm.
