Today in Norway: a roundup of the latest news on Wednesday 

13 people injured a day in e-scooter accidents in Oslo

In July, 13 people a day required medical attention following scooter accidents in the Norwegian capital Oslo. 

In total, more than 400 people were treated by Oslo Emergency Medical Service last month. This is just under double the number of injuries when compared to the same time last year.

Chief Physician Henrik Siverts from the emergency department at Oslo University Hospital told press agency NTB the proportion of those coming into accident and emergency because of a scooter accident has risen compared to other injuries.

Last week a 68-year-old man became the first person to die in Oslo in an accident involving a scooter accident. 

Oslo Municipality will introduce a crackdown on e-scooters this month, including a cap on the number of e-scooters available to rent and a curfew.

SP deputy leader wants to cut urban development to increase funding for country roads

Ola Borten Moe, deputy leader of SP, has proposed a cut to infrastructure and environmental projects in cities to upgrade battered country roads instead. 

Borten Moe says the backlog of repairs to country roads amounts to about 70 billion kroner, compared to the government's urban development projects, which will cost around 150 billion kroner over the next ten years.

He also said that the value the government gets for large projects is very poor when compared to other countries such as neighbours Finland. 

"I think it is a combination of the fact that we have we have a state that is very rich from oil and the oil fund. And maybe a little leisurely laziness from the responsible authorities," he said. 

The deputy leader for SP said that more debate and scrutiny on how public resources are used is needed. 

Proportion of people who want to use public transport drops

According to the Norwegian Automobile Association (NAF), the proportion of people who want to use public transport more often has fallen from 60 percent to 47 percent. 

The figure comes from the group's annual Road Traffic Barometer for 2021. 

The survey is based on the travel habits of more than 4,000 respondents. 

Almost one-fifth of those who responded said that they expect to work from home in the future. As a result, the motoring organisation has called for more flexible public transport options. 

"The public transport service must keep pace with a more flexible working life. So new ticket types that offer the choice between monthly cards or expensive single tickets should be put in place quickly," Ingunn Handagard, senior comms consultant for the group, said in the report. 

475 new Covid-19 infections in Norway

On Tuesday, 475 new coronavirus cases were registered in Norway, 165 more than the seven day average of 310. 

This is the highest number of daily cases since May 26th. 

In Oslo, 66 new Covid-19 infections were recorded. 

Total number of Covid-19 cases registered in Norway. Source: NIPH