Government to include mortgages and car loans on national debt register

Norway is planning to expand its debt register to include mortgages and loans taken out for cars.

The debt register, which was set up in 2019, currently only lists information on credit card debt and consumer loans, but the government is looking to expand what information is shown on the register.

“There are many indications that the debt information scheme has been a great success. We have seen a decline in the lending of unsecured loans for the first time in many years,” consumer affairs minister Kjell Ingolf Ropstad said.

The Norwegian Data Protection Authority is against the expansion of the register.

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The banking sector in Norway has long advocated including more information in the register to get a better overview of people’s financial situation when applying for loans.

The proposal will be evaluated by government in the autumn. 

Police break up national day celebrations

Police in Oslo broke up a parade to mark Norway’s National Day after it appeared to exceed the city’s current restrictions on public gatherings.

Around 150 people gathered in central Oslo to take part in a parade, which was stopped as it headed towards the Royal Palace, newspaper VG reported.

READ ALSO: May 17th: A guide to how Norway normally celebrates it’s national day 

“They had a size of about 150 people, give or take. They were moving around the city centre and at one point crossed Karl Johan (street) and headed towards the palace,” senior police officer tor Gulbrandsen told the paper. 

Infection control measures may extend life expectancy 

Coronavirus restrictions may have an impact on extending life expectancy, Frode Forland, director at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, has said.

According to Statistics Norway, there were 864 fewer deaths in the first quarter of this year compared to last year.

“It may be that some of these measures will improve the possibility of an extended life expectancy,” Forland told state broadcaster NRK’s evening news program Dagsrevyen on Monday evening.

Forland also said that when infections decrease, the number of deaths associated with other diseases also falls.

201 new Covid-19 cases recorded in Norway

On Monday, 201 new cases of coronavirus were recorded in Norway.

This is a decrease of 208 cases compared to the seven day average of 409.

In general, infection numbers are much lower on public holidays and weekends than during the week.

In Oslo, 32 new cases of infection were registered, 49 less than the seven day rolling average.

The R-number or reproduction rate in Norway is currently 0.7. This means that the pandemic is receding in Norway as for every ten people that are infected, they will, on average, only infect another seven people.