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Norway bans foreign traveller for two years over quarantine breach

Norwegian police said Thursday they had expelled a foreigner who violated quarantine rules and slapped him with a 1,900-euro fine, while immigration officials banned him reentering the country for two years.

Norway bans foreign traveller for two years over quarantine breach
A file photo of Oslo Airport. Photo: AFP

The man was caught breaking quarantine regulations in the western county of Møre og Romsdal, about a week after arriving from Germany having flown via the Netherlands.

Norway requires travellers arriving from most European countries, including both Germany and the Netherlands, to quarantine themselves for 10 days to curb the spread of Covid-19.

READ ALSO: What are Norway's quarantine rules and what happens if you break them?

“We live in a system based on trust. Everyone is asked to do their bit,” regional police official Svein Rike told AFP.

“In these circumstances, it's important to react firmly when the rules are broken,” he explained.

The man, who was visiting someone in Norway, was ordered to pay a fine of 20,000 kroner (1,900 euros, $2,240), while immigration authorities also banned him from entering the country for two years.

Police refused to disclose the man's identity or nationality, saying only that he was not from a country within the European Economic Area (the EU plus Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway).

In Norway, 'home quarantine' including for people arriving from 'red' countries means that person is asked to stay home from school or work, not have visitors, not use public transport and only visit shops or pharmacies if strictly necessary or not at all if it is not possible to maintain social distance. You may have normal contact with people you live with who are not in quarantine. You are also allowed to go outside for a walk if you maintain a one-metre distance from others at all times.

If you later suspect you have symptoms of coronavirus, you must isolate yourself completely and get tested for the virus. More details can be found on the health authority website.

Countries designated ‘yellow' are not encompassed by the quarantine rule but the foreign ministry also advises against travel to these countries.

READ ALSO: Norway set to tighten Covid-19 travel advisory for Italy

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COVID-19

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus.

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

In a new recommendation, the agency said that those living in elderly care centres, and those above the age of 80 should from March 1st receive two vaccinations a year, with a six month gap between doses. 

“Elderly people develop a somewhat worse immune defence after vaccination and immunity wanes faster than among young and healthy people,” the agency said. “That means that elderly people have a greater need of booster doses than younger ones. The Swedish Public Health Agency considers, based on the current knowledge, that it will be important even going into the future to have booster doses for the elderly and people in risk groups.” 

READ ALSO: 

People between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and young people with risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, poor kidney function or high blood pressure, are recommended to take one additional dose per year.

The new vaccination recommendation, which will start to apply from March 1st next year, is only for 2023, Johanna Rubin, the investigator in the agency’s vaccination programme unit, explained. 

She said too much was still unclear about how long protection from vaccination lasted to institute a permanent programme.

“This recommendation applies to 2023. There is not really an abundance of data on how long protection lasts after a booster dose, of course, but this is what we can say for now,” she told the TT newswire. 

It was likely, however, that elderly people would end up being given an annual dose to protect them from any new variants, as has long been the case with influenza.

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