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Travel: Norway extends entry restrictions into May

Restrictions on travel into Norway first introduced in January are to remain in place up to and including May 12th, the government has confirmed.

Travel: Norway extends entry restrictions into May
Photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash

The restrictions limit entry to a very small group outside of Norwegian residents and citizens.

“We are still in a serious infection situation. It is, therefore, necessary to extend strict entry restrictions. We all hope that we will continue to see a downward curve in the infection situation. We are continuously considering easing the entry restrictions. The reopening (of the border) will take place gradually and in a controlled manner based on the government’s plan for reopening,” Minister of Justice Monica Mæland said in a statement.

If the measures are not extended, then entry requirements could be eased in May in line with the country’s plan to ease national coronavirus restrictions.

The second phase of reopening, which will only commence if infections stay low, includes potential entry for partners and family and for business travel.

Currently, only permanent residents and Norwegian citizens may enter Norway, with a few exceptions.

Exemptions apply to close family such as a spouse or children of a resident of Norway; foreign residents who commute daily between Norway and Sweden; and children who commute from Sweden or Finland for school.

There is an entry quarantine period in Norway of 10 days. Anyone returning to Norway on trips deemed unnecessary will have to enter a quarantine hotel and pay a subsidy of 500 kroner per day for between 7-10 days.

READ ALSO: When will I be able to travel to and from Norway again?

Only Norwegian residents, a child of, or somebody who shares parental responsibilities with a permanent resident of Norway will be able to leave the quarantine hotel after seven days, provided they return a negative PCR test for Covid-19. But they will still have to spend the remaining three days in quarantine at their home.

Everyone arriving in Norway must also register before their arrival and provide a negative PCR test taken within 24 hours of their departure flight. They are also obliged to take a rapid test on arrival and remain at the test centre until their result is delivered.

You are exempt from quarantine if your trip abroad is considered essential. Essential trips include those taken to visit your children, go to a funeral, or to visit a relative or close relation with a severe or terminal illness, as well as strictly necessary maintenance on a holiday home in Sweden or Finland.

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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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