Christmas party leaves 50-60 people infected with suspected Omicron Covid in Norway
Christmas party leaves 50-60 people infected with suspected Omicron Covid in Norway in what would be world’s biggest outbreak of the variant yet
Officials said 50 people had positive PCR tests, 10 had positive lateral flow testsAt least one person at the festive party had recently returned from South Africa Medics have ruled out the Delta variant, said it is likely the new Omicron strain
<!–
<!–
<!–<!–
<!–
(function (src, d, tag){
var s = d.createElement(tag), prev = d.getElementsByTagName(tag)[0];
s.src = src;
prev.parentNode.insertBefore(s, prev);
}(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/1.17.0/async_bundle–.js”, document, “script”));
<!–
DM.loadCSS(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/gunther-2159/video_bundle–.css”);
<!–
A Christmas party in Norway has left between 50 and 60 people infected with Covid-19, suspected to be the new super-mutant Omicron variant.
If confirmed, it would be the world’s biggest outbreak of the new strain so far.
Medics have ruled out the possibility the infections are Delta variant cases and said there was a ‘high probability’ it was the new strain.
Officials said 50 people tested positive on a PCR test following Norwegian renewable energy company Scatec’s Christmas dinner at Louise Restaurant & Bar in Aker Brygge, Oslo, on Friday.
A further 10 people received positive results from lateral flow tests, NRK reported. it is understood all those infected were fully vaccinated.
The Christmas party was held in a closed room but the guests reportedly mingled with other people in the restaurant after 10:30pm, when it turned into a nightclub.
At least two restaurant guests not involved in the Christmas party also later tested positive, though it is not yet clear if they were infected at the event or from a different contact.
Ten waiters who served the table were tested after the party, but none have tested positive.
Norwegian renewable energy firm Scatec’s (pictured, the company’s Oslo office) Christmas party in Norway has left between 50 and 60 people infected with Covid-19 , suspected to be the new super-mutant Omicron variant
One of the Scatec employees had recently returned from South Africa, where the company does some of its business.
It was not immediately clear if the employee was patient zero or if they had been travelling in South Africa for Scatec.
Tine Ravlo, assistant chief infection control doctor in Frogner District, said a preliminary screening of the cases’ samples showed it was likely it was Omicron.
She said the samples have been sent for sequencing which will confirm if it is Omicron.
Head of the infection tracking team in Oslo west, Jorum Thaulow, told Avisa Oslo: ‘We have not received it definitively confirmed, but there are very strong indications that it is Omicron in this outbreak.’
Thaulow said all the cases had been treated as if they had the Omicron variant and told to self-isolate for seven days.
Close contacts were also warned quarantine for ten days in they develop Covid-19.
At least 41 of those infected live in Oslo.
Scatec yesterday released a press release describing mandatory testing and vaccinations for employees at the Christmas party.
It said only vaccinated employees were allowed at the event and that everyone had to have tested in advance, but refused to confirm the number of employees infected.
But Thaulow said it was fairly common for fully jabbed people to carry and pass on Covid-19.
