The corona pandemic has a doctor as a clammy hand over the last two festival areas, but this year one can finally enjoy both sun and proper festival atmosphere around the country. For it to go smoothly this year, people must take precautions, says Helene Niemi Eide in FHI. – It is important that festival goers are aware of the risk of infection, how one becomes infected and what steps one can take to avoid the disease, says the doctor who follows the situation closely. Helene Eide has become well acquainted with what until now was a particularly rare disease in Norway and Europe, namely monkey pox. She is of course talking about the troublesome disease monkey pox which now has its biggest outbreak in Europe nokosinne. The outbreak is unusual in this part of the world, and European authorities are therefore trying to stop the spread as quickly as possible. Europe is now the epicenter of the disease with about 2,000 infections, which is well over 80 percent of all cases in the world. FHI follows developments The latest figures before FHI stopped publishing individual cases last week, showed four cases in Norway. But FHI is closely following developments as the summer provides good conditions for further spread. The WHO is now warning against monkey cups as a new ghost over the long-awaited festival summer. This week, a crisis committee under the auspices of the WHO will meet to assess whether the ongoing outbreak outside Africa is an international health crisis. After the sweet itch comes the sour sting, fears Europe chief in WHO, Hans Kluge. Photo: Alexander Astafyev / AFP – Now that the summer is approaching with large gatherings, parties and festivals, I fear increased infection spread on the continent, says Hans Kluge. He is the regional director of the WHO in Europe where monkey cups have so far been detected in more than 30 countries. The festivals take the advice calmly – If there is one thing we have learned in recent years, it is that the risk of infection is higher when people gather, says Martin Holmes. He is responsible for HSE for Bergenfest, but takes the admonition from the WHO with crushing calm. – It is not a dangerous disease, says Holmes. In the main, he is right according to FHI and WHO – only a few get seriously ill. And despite the fact that festivals can offer a lot of close contact, so do other arenas, Holmes points out. Martin Holmes in Bergenfest says that colleagues at other festivals have not had much focus on monkey cups either. – Infection can occur in other cities as well, he says. Photo: Espen Hatlestad / news – Strictly speaking, one could ban weekends, because people gather then too, he says. Several outbursts associated with the Pride event Oslo Pride is another festival that can again be arranged as normal. This means tens of thousands of participants and hundreds of thousands of supporters in the streets of Oslo who celebrate queer love and diversity. – Much of the infection during this outbreak has occurred among men who have sex with men. We therefore work especially with and with this environment, says Eide. – It is probably coincidental that the disease has entered that environment, and then further spread there. The more sex partners one has, the greater the chance of getting the virus, she adds. Several of the first eruptions on the continent occurred in connection with the Pride event. At the same time, Eide emphasizes that monkey pox is a disease that can affect everyone, regardless of orientation. At Bergenfest 2015, people were crowded together, long before the corona became and monkey cups were something one had heard about. Photo: (c) Roy Bjorge – If there is more infection in other environments, it will be relevant with closer contact with other cultural organizers, she says. Then Holmes is ready. – We are responsible organizers and good friends with FHI, so we follow what they give of advice and information, he says. – Is about providing good information Oslo Pride perceives NIPH’s information work on the monkey cup outbreak as constructive, but they believe there may be a risk of stigmatization of queers if the disease spreads even faster and the dissemination is not good enough. Oslo Pride works closely with FHI to provide the right information before and during the 10-day folk festival in the capital. Photo: Oslo Pride Even though the disease is not contagious very easily, they are safe and cooperate well and closely with FHI on information material. – It is about providing good information to our audience so that they experience our event as safe, says communications consultant at Oslo Pride, Rohan Sandemo Fernando. Rohan Sandemo Fernando in Oslo Pride tells of a challenging pandemic, but this year it is moving towards a normal implementation. Photo: Oslo Pride It should not only be possible to use Pride, but in connection with other festivals, concerts and other major events and social gatherings. And with conscious organizers, festival goers and authorities, things will probably go well this year. The information material from FHI will be visible on social media, big screens and as pamphlets throughout the summer. Photo: FHI FHI writes that they do not expect a monkey cup outbreak in line with the corona. Oslo Pride has the latter fresh in its memory, but .. – We have been out one winter night before, he chuckles.
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The festival summer could exacerbate the monkey cup outbreak, warns WHO – news Kultur og underholdning
