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Norway should prepare for more COVID-19 restrictions, PM says

General view of Oslo after SARS-CoV-2 variant was discovered near city

OSLO (Reuters) - Norway will likely need stronger restrictions to combat the latest resurgence in coronavirus infections, Minister Erna Solberg said in a televised speech on Sunday.

"Ahead of us is another hill to climb, probably with tighter national measures before we can ease and then lift the restrictions," Solberg said.

She did not outline which additional measures could be needed to curb the COVID-19 outbreak however.

The Nordic country has maintained one of Europe's lowest rates of infection but a recent resurgence in cases has led to concerns that a third wave of the outbreak may be underway.

In the capital region, where the more contagious variant first identified in Britain as B.1.1.7 now dominates, non-essential stores are already closed, restaurants are only allowed to provide takeaway service and some schools are shut.

As of March 4, the nation of 5.4 million had vaccinated close to 377,600 people with a first dose, and nearly 200,700 had also received a second dose, according to data from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

(Reporting by Nora Buli, editing by Terje Solsvik)