Hundreds quarantined in Oslo virus outbreak linked to high school seniors’ celebrations

More than 500 people in Oslo, Norway, have been quarantined following high school graduation celebrations.

The Associated Press reports that medical authorities in Oslo and Norway announced that they had “made an urgent decision to stop all celebrations for a week.”

Traditional Norwegian graduation celebrations known as “russ” typically involve high school seniors riding around in buses and drinking. The graduates usually wear colored overalls with matching hats, the AP reports. They will often buy a used vehicle and spray paint it while driving around.

Drunkenness and public disturbances are often associated with the celebrations, the AP notes.

Jorunn Thaulow, part of the infection tracing team in western Oslo, told local media that the recent cases were connected to five buses that were used by students. According to Thaulow, the infections have affected all the high schools in western Oslo.

Norway will soon be vaccinating people aged 18 to 44, the AP notes. The coronavirus vaccines approved for use in Norway include the shots from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

The Scandinavian country was one of several European nations that completely stopped using the AstraZeneca vaccine due to concerns it was linked to blood clots.

According to data from the World Health Organization, Norway has confirmed more than 124,000 COVID-19 cases and nearly 800 related deaths.