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OSLO (Reuters) – Norway is lifting its ban on flights from the UK, introduced to halt the spread of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus, the Health Ministry said on Friday, with planes cleared to land from January 2 at 8:00 p.m. 1600 GMT.
Following the lead of other European nations, Norway halted travel from Britain on December 21 following news that the new strain of the virus was spreading rapidly.
Oslo announced on Thursday that it would introduce mandatory COVID-19 tests from January 2 for all people arriving in the Nordic country from abroad, either directly upon arrival or up to 24 hours later.
“If this tension were to spread in Norway, it would probably mean a total blockade of society,” Prime Minister Erna Solberg said on Thursday.
Norway’s 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people fell to 113.6 as of Wednesday, the fourth lowest in Europe behind Iceland, Greece and Finland, the European Center for Prevention and Prevention said. Disease Control.
(Reported by Gwladys Fouche; Edited by Gareth Jones)
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