Webinar Series on COVID-19 and Inequality, 6 May 2021, More information at: https://www.oecd.org/wise/events/covid-and-inequality-webinars.htm

1. May 6th 2021
Covid-19 among immigrants in
Norway
Thor Indseth, department director

2. Co-authors
Indseth T, Elgersma IH, Strand BH, Telle K, Labberton AS, Arnesen T, Nygård KM,
Godøy A.
Norwegian report: Covid-19 among persons born outside Norway, adjusted for
occupation, Household crowding, medical risk group, education and income,
Report 2021 (Summery available in English)

3. Register data
National emergency preparedness register (BeredtC-19):
laboratory-confirmed infections with SARS-CoV-2 and related hospitalizations in the entire Norwegian population
The BeredtC19 dataused for this study originated from the Norwegian Surveillance System for Communicable Diseases and
laboratory database (all polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests with test results for SARS-COV-2),
Norwegian Patient Registry and Norwegian Registry for Primary Health Care (hospital admissions, medical risk group)
National Population Register(demographics, municipality of residence)
Employer and Employee Register(occupation)
Statistics Norway (household crowding, education, household income).
Immigrants are defined as persons born outside Norway and currently residing in Norway legally
We also use the category «Norwegian-born with foreign-born parents»
People on short term stays in Norway or who reside without legal permission are not included in
the material

4. Summary
Immigrants have been overrepresented in the statistics on confirmed cases and hospitalizations;
People born in Somalia, Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Eritrea have been hit hardest
The overrepresentation is somewhat reduced after we adjust for age, sex and municipality of
residence
When we adjust for household income, education, household crowding, occupation and medical
risk, the overrepresentation in confirmed cases is reduced by 12%, and hospitalizations by 3%
During the first period of the pandemic, immigrants were tested less than Norwegian
-born persons
From October-November we saw a shift, and in recent months immigrants have had higher rates of
testing than Norwegian-born persons
High hospitalizations combined with high numbers of positive tests among those tested, despite
high rates of testing among many immigrant groups, is a cause for concern

5. 0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000
Confirmed cases per 100 000, by country of birth, 25 largest immigrant groups, June 15th - March 31st

7. Household
crowding only

8. Oslo City
districts

9. Household crowding
Confirmed cases

10. 0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
Hospitalizations per 100 000 by country of birth, June 15th-March 31th, 25 largest immigrant groups

12. Hospitalizations
and
medical risk only

13. Hospitalizations
and Oslo city
districts

14. Percent tested at least once, and percent tested positive among those tested

15. Figure 5a: Percentage tested per month by country background (continent) April 2020 - April 2021 (inclusive).

19. References:
Indseth T, Elgersma IH, Strand BH, Telle K, Labberton AS, Arnesen T, Nygård KM, Godøy A.Covid-19 blant personer født utenfor Norge, justert for
yrke,trangboddhet, medisinsk risikogruppe, utdanning og inntekt
Indseth T, Godøy A, Kjøllesdal M, Arnesen T,Carelo, CJ, Vinjerui KH, Elgersma IH, Telle K. "Covid-19 etter fødeland fra mars 2020 til februar 2021.
Indseth, T., Godøy, A., Kjøllesdal, M., Arnesen, T., Jacobsen, C., Grøsland, M., & Telle, K. 2020aCovid-19 etter fødeland: Personer testet, bekreftet smittet
og relaterte innleggelser og dødsfall. FHI-Rapport 2020
Indseth, T., Kjøllesdal, M. K. R., Jacobsen, C. C., Nygård, K. M., & Godøy, A. A. 2020bCovid-19 i Oslo etter fødeland: Personer testet, bekreftet smittet og
relaterte innleggelser. FHI-Rapport 2020
Indseth, T., Grøsland, M., Arnesen, T., Skyrud, K., Kløvstad, H., Lamprini, V., Telle, K. & Kjøllesdal, M. 2021.
COVID-19 among immigrants in Norway,
notified infections, related hospitalizations and associated mortality: A register-based study. Scandinavian journal of public health 2021
Nilsen TS, Johansen R, Aarø LE, Kjøllesdal MKR, Indseth T.Holdninger til vaksine, og etterlevelse råd om sosial distansering og hygiene blant
innvandrere i forbindelse med koronapandemien, FHI-rapport, 2021. Folkehelseinstituttet, Oslo, 2021.
Telle KE, Grøsland M, Helgeland J, Håberg SE.Factors associated with hospitalization, invasive mechanical ventilation treatment and death among all
confirmed COVID-19 cases in Norway: Prospective cohort study. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. January 2021.
Indseth, T Nygård, K. M., & Godøy, A. A. 2021b Covid-19 blant norskfødte med utenlandsfødte foreldre: Personer testet, bekreftet smittet og relaterte
innleggelser, FHI-Rapport 2021
Kunnskapsdepartementet 2020. Rapport fra Ekspertgruppe, forslag til tiltak for å redusere Covid-19-smitte blant innvandrere, Oslo, desember 2020
Folkehelseinstituttet 2021.Statistikk for Covid-19 etter fødeland, meldte tilfeller og innleggelse, svar på spørsmål fra Stortinget 982 og 984
Folkehelseinstituttet 2021.Ukerapporter om koronavirus og covid-19
Folkehelseinstituttet 2021: Oslo: testaktivitet fødeland – innleggelser, statusrapport 16. mars 2021