Covid Summer Fear: 'Don't Panic', Norwegian Public Health Officials Say

As more people are reverting to madness these days, a helpful reminder from less mad 'experts™' and 'journos™'

Jul 25, 2024

So, to cap this week’s Covid-related reporting (see here and here), today, I’ll bring you a word of warning from Norway’s Institute of Public Health (IPH).

Since I’m growing a wee bit tired of this entire charade, I’ll do some other topics in the next few days. Translation and emphases mine, as are the bottom lines.

New Infection Bulge: ‘There has been a small wave of corona’

There is more corona infection in society now than earlier this year, but experts see no reason to sound the alarm.

By Stian Haraldsen, Anne-Marit Borgen Werring, and Eivind Bulie, [Norwegian state broadcaster] NRK, 23 July 2024 [source]

It is 1,595 days since Norway shut down. It is 1,034 days since the country reopened. But ‘Corona’ has not gone away, on the contrary, there has been an increase this summer [relative to…what? Alas, this isn’t said].

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (IPH) says that there may be a further increase of infections in the future [of course, because if there’s no such thing, why would we need public health officialdom?].

‘The incidence is still relatively low, but the trend has been increasing for several weeks, something we have also seen in previous summers. Nor can we rule out further increases in the coming weeks’, says Hilde Kløvstad, Acting Director of Infection Control and Vaccines at the IPH.

The IPH does not have specific figures on how large the increase has been [so, how do they know, for sure, about ‘the trend™’ of infections?].

Lots of Viruses in Circulation

Not so many people test themselves anymore, but those who go to hospital are tested. And that’s where the health authorities are seeing more cases being registered [ah, now we know—a rather small, comparatively self-selective sub-set of the general population is the basis for the above comment; no wonder that authorities don’t want to talk about ‘trends’, ‘numbers’, or the like].

‘There are many respiratory viruses in circulation now, and there has been a small wave of corona in the early summer and in recent weeks, according to figures from hospitals and national registers’, says Einar Sagberg, head of infection control in Drammen Municipality [I call BS, because what Mr. Sagberg is telling people who are able to read is this: ‘there was a small wave’ of Covid in hospitals].

He says that the Coronavirus has not yet adapted to a seasonal rhythm, as for example the influenza virus has [perhaps it will once we stop injecting people with modRNA gene therapy products all-year round? We’ll soon find out, though, once modRNA flu shots are handed out like free candy, won’t we?]:

That’s why we’re expecting small waves at slightly different times than we’re used to. That’s probably what we’re seeing now.

Viruses on the Summer Prowl

Many people live a little differently in the summer than they do in the rest of the year, without the usual routines [speak for yourselves]. Despite the rise of infections [in hospitals], Sagberg believes that there is no reason for people to be worried:

Aeroplanes, trains, and places where many people are sitting or standing close together are places where the virus spreads more easily. But if you are healthy, we have no general advice for the public [oh, look, a lucid moment].

[NRK] If you’re abroad and fall ill, what should you do?

[Einar Sagberg] As long as you experience it as a common cold, you can deal with it with a little pain relief, calm down, and perhaps seek shade if it’s a very hot place. If you start to feel seriously unwell, you need to seek medical attention where you are [take that, you hypochondriac Covid nuts].

Protecting the Vulnerable

Sagberg is most concerned with how people behave in the first few days, whether it’s corona or another viral infection [now Mr. Sagberg, a physician, has exited the realm of his expertise].

In the first few days, when we have plenty of symptoms and feel a bit unwell, we should stay away from people we know are vulnerable. These are the very youngest, the oldest, and those we know have serious illnesses [perhaps we should make ‘the vulnerable™’ wear easily identifiable signs, such as ‘plague masks’ or bright-red hats with an alarm light on top of it?]

[NRK] Is there any reason to wear a face mask? [a litmus test, I’d argue, the answer being: if you’re not removing, e.g., asbestos-containing roof tiles or sanding painted wood indoors, the answer is a resounding: ‘of course not’]

If you have to go out in a crowded place when you’re in the early stages of symptoms, it may be appropriate to wear a face mask to protect others.

Bottom Lines

A mixed bag of goods, for sure, but at least some people have returned to (parts of) their good senses.

There’s a bunch of BS in this article, ranging from the absolutely madness-inducing ‘sample’ (if you’d like to call it that way) of testing for Covid of everyone who’s more or less willing to do so while being admitted to a hospital to a pretty frank admission to what public health (sic) officialdom is apparently doing these days, i.e., nudging.

At the very least, IPH is not joining the calls to ‘mask up’ or ‘get vaccinated’ these days.

In closing, dear readers, if you know someone who’s still (I know, sigh) freaking out over ‘Covid! Covid! Covid!’, perhaps you’d like to point to the super-serious Norwegian Institute of Public Health weighing in on the Covid Summer Scare 2024™’: