Fact check: Has Norway said COVID-19 no more dangerous than ordinary flu?

New Delhi, Oct 04: Is COVID-19 no more dangerous than an ordinary flu? A post has gone viral stating that Norway has reclassified COVID-19 and it is no more dangerous than ordinary flu.

It is true that cases have dropped immensely in Norway. But it is not true that Norway has said that COVID-19 is no more dangerous than ordinary flu. A website called the Free West Media had on September 23 publish an article quoting a senior official of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

While quoting its assistant director Geir Buckholm it said that we are now in a new phase where we must look at COVID-19 as one of the several respiratory diseases with seasonal variation.

Our position, as stated in the news article, is that at this point in the pandemic, we must start approaching Covid-19 as one of several respiratory diseases circulating with seasonal variation. This means that control measures that will be applicable for various respiratory diseases will require the same level of societal preparedness. This does not mean that illness from coronavirus and the seasonal flu are similar," clarified NPIH when American weekly magazine Newsweek had reached out to them.

In conclusion, Norway has lifted restrictions pertaining to COVID-19 on September 26, but had never said that it is no more dangerous than an ordinary flu.