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Vaccine detail in nation's Omicron 'superspreader' party

At least 17 people suspected of having the Omicron variant of coronavirus after a 'superspreader' Christmas party in Norway were fully vaccinated, city health officials have said.

On Thursday, it was confirmed a fifth person in Norway had tested positive for the Omicron variant in the wake of a corporate Christmas party in Oslo last week.

Today, a city health official told the AFP news agency that 60 people of the 100-plus guests had tested positive. One case has been confirmed as Omicron with a further 16 suspected to be linked to the new variant of concern.

Officials have warned the number of Omicron-confirmed cases would undoubtedly increase.

“All of them had been vaccinated, none of them had symptoms and they had all done self-tests (before attending the dinner)," Tine Ravlo told AFP.

Group of hands toasting glasses of red wine for Christmas or xmas celebrating party. Closeup photo with bokeh light for New year holiday celebration.
More than half of the partygoers are suspected of having the virus. Source: Getty,file.

He added that most of those infected had mild symptoms and that the party organisers had broken no rules.

Preben Aavitsland, a senior physician at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, told Reuters the outbreak is the largest outside of South Africa.

"This party has been a superspreader event," he said.

Restrictions tightened following Omicron outbreak

Norway has responded swiftly to the outbreak, reintroducing some social distancing measures and encouraging people to work from home.

From Friday, anyone arriving in Norway, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, must take a COVID test within 24 hours of arrival.

In areas with high infection rates such as Oslo, the use of face masks in crowded places is mandatory, as is working from home for those who are able to.

Some 88 per cent of adults in Norway, and 71 per cent of all Norwegians, are fully vaccinated. About 11 per cent have received a booster shot.

Austria was plunged into lockdown in November in response to the fourth wave of COVID sweeping Europe. It became the first country to announce mandatory vaccines from next year.

On Friday Switzerland announced that venues could refuse entry to unvaccinated people. Germany has also announced measures that place major restrictions on unvaccinated people or those who have recently recovered from infection, including being banned from restaurants, cinemas and many shops.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is remaining optimistic about the Omicron variant. Source: Getty
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is remaining optimistic about the Omicron variant. Source: Getty

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had suggested on Wednesday that the entire European Union should consider mandatory COVID vaccinations in response to the spread of the “highly contagious” Omicron variant.

In England, the government has reintroduced the mandatory wearing of masks in shops and on public transport, but has stopped short of further restrictions.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Christmas 2021 would be "considerably better than the last" during a press conference on Tuesday.

He added: “We’ve got the measures in place to fight Delta, which we think are appropriate, and then we’re bringing in some tougher measures to stop the rapid seeding of Omicron in this country to give us the time we need to get the boosters in and of course to find out more.”

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has said there may be a chance current vaccines will be less effective against the variant.

It said there is also an increased chance of reinfection but they did say that "the full extent to which the Omicron VOC evades or erodes existing vaccine- or infection-derived immunity remains uncertain".

- Yahoo UK

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