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Norway to retain Covid-19 travel restrictions as infection rate increases

Norwegian health minister Ingvild Kjerkol confirmed on Thursday that the country will continue existing entry restrictions in the midst of an increasing trend of Covid-19 infections. New domestic restrictions will not be reintroduced at the current time.

A file photo showing SAS aircraft on the tarmac at Oslo Gardermoen Airport. Norway will keep its existing Covid-19 entry restrictions until the end of 2021, its health minister said on Thursday.
Photo: Hakon Mosvold Larsen / SCANPIX NORWAY / AFP

Covid-19 infections are increasing nationally in Norway, with the most recent daily total of 1,180 significantly above the seven-day average of 721.

“The government has decided to retain several corona measures which were assessed removable. The current system of downgraded TISK [testing, isolation, contact tracing and quarantine, ed.] should have been lifted now according to the plan, but will be continued for the rest of the year,” Kjerkol said at a briefing on Thursday afternoon.

Isolation requirements for people who test positive for Covid-19 are also extended.

The current infection situation in Norway is manageable despite the increasing trend, the minister said at the briefing. Hospitalisations remain low, while health authorities will closely follow the strain on the health service, she said.

101 people are currently admitted to hospitals nationally with the coronavirus.

“We are not just concerned with how many people are admitted to intensive care at the big hospitals, we are also concerned with the situation in small district municipalities which have smaller and more vulnerable health services than in the small towns,” Kjerkol said.

A phased plan to ease Covid-19 travel rules was presented in late September.

The first stage of the plan was implemented on September 26th, ending most entry restrictions for residents and citizens from EU, EEA  (EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway), purple list countries and the UK.

Travellers from orange countries on Norway’s travel map no longer have to quarantine. Those arriving from red, dark red, purple and grey countries would need to quarantine. However, quarantine can be terminated after returning a negative PCR test taken after day three. 

A guide to quarantine and testing rules for arrival in Norway from abroad is available on the Norwegian Directorate of Health website.

The remaining travel restrictions are to be lifted across two more phases, for which the previous government provided some detail but did not specify dates. 

READ ALSO: Norway to ease Covid-19 travel rules in phased plan

Phase two would see entry restrictions lifted for all the countries on the EU’s third country list. EU third countries are areas that are not in the EU or do not share the bloc’s freedom of movement, but that the EU considers to be “safe” for travel.

During phase three, the government will take another look at entry and quarantine rules. Travel testing would also be faced out, but with the option to reintroduce it if necessary.

But the introduction of those phases is on hold after Kjerkol’s statement on Thursday.

The health minister meanwhile ruled out nationwide restrictions at the current time, after saying in a written statement earlier this week that such restrictions “could be relevant”.

“We are prepared to reach for our tools if it is necessary,” she said, but confirmed national restrictions would not be brought in at the current time.

Member comments

  1. Totally illogical restrictions with some countries (irrespective of the infection rate) allowed entry even for tourism and others not allowed to enter even for essential purposes. No data driven opening and no effective use of quarantine. Was expecting the new government to look at it differently and to have a fair system but totally disappointed.

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STRIKES

Fresh strike threat could ground flights from Norway

Aircraft technicians in Norway working for SAS, Norwegian, and Widerøe could strike, causing disruption for air traffic at the start of the summer holidays if mediation talks fail.

Fresh strike threat could ground flights from Norway

Beginning later this week, the union representing aircraft technicians at SAS, Norwegian, and Widerøe (Norsk Flyteknikerorganisasjonand) and the branch of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) responsible for the aviation industry, will have mediation talks on a collective bargaining agreement.

If an agreement isn’t agreed, 30 aircraft technicians will be taken out on strike – with more workers being taken out until an agreement is reached.

“The will to strike is great. If it is not resolved quickly, it is natural to register more,” Jan Skogseth, head of the union, told travel news publication Flysmart 24.

The strike could begin at midnight on Friday, disrupting air travel at the start of the school holidays in Norway. The strike could take aircraft out of rotation as there will be less staff to carry out essential maintenance on planes.

“The number of workers being taken out may sound low, but considering that there is already a shortage of aircraft technicians, a tight summer program at the same time as the holidays, it can quickly have a big impact when we have around 480 aircraft technicians in Norway in total,” Skogseth said.

However, he said that the strike would not affect flights that are critical to life and health. In 2022, the Norwegian government ordered an aircraft technician strike to an end after a strike escalation threatened to ground air ambulances.

When the Norwegian government orders a strike to end, a state body decides the outcome of the collective bargaining agreement and terms, such as wages.

Norway has seen several potential strikes averted in recent weeks. Both a pilot’s strike that would have affected Norwegian and an Avinor staff strike was resolved during mediation or mediation overtime.

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