– Here is total chaos and impossible to keep your distance – NRK Norway – Summary of news from different parts of the country

Starting today, January 2, 2021, everyone traveling to Norway from red countries must take a corona test. As far as possible, the test should be done at the airport or border station.

The new rules for testing have resulted in long lines and large meetings with people today at Oslo airport in Gardermoen. This makes it difficult to keep the distance, says Marcus Liebold, who has traveled from Germany and is now in line for a corona test.

– It’s total chaos. I’ve been queuing for almost three hours. It’s hard enough to keep the distance from before, but people keep coming, causing it to pile up more and more.

– No information

Liebold says he has received little information and does not have guards to make sure people uphold infection control rules.

– I have not seen any guards or received information about how long I have to wait. It seems that the test personnel are stressed out and have little control and overview.

Liebold says about 10 people are tested at a time. Where it is, there were about 60 people when it arrived today. Now he estimates that several hundred people are staying there.

– People are desperate to get to the queue and I’ve seen more people trying to get in, Liebold tells NRK.

From Japan to study

Outside the arrivals hall, NRK meets three men from Japan, who are in Norway for pilot training. They were not prepared for the chaos that awaited them at the airport.

– I waited three and a half hours. We were waiting in the luggage area and we were quite afraid of being infected by the virus there, because there were about 300 people there. We really didn’t expect it to be like this, says Masaki Aurelien Matsuzawa.

All three will now be quarantined and say that they have been told they have to wait three days for the test result. They had a negative test before leaving Tokyo.

– Be patient

NRK has been in contact with Avinor, which says they were expecting a big increase today and that people should wait time out.

– We do the best we can to manage queues. Information signs and border police are present, says Avinor senior communications consultant Nora Hoberg Prestaasen.

Hoberg Prestaasen says they expect the same number of travelers to Gardermoen tomorrow and that he hopes the biggest pressure of the day is over.

– I cannot advise anything other than that people should be patient and be aware of infection control, Hoberg Prestaasen tells NRK.

Encourage distance

The communal director of health and social care in Ullensaker municipality, Gunnhild Grimstad-Kirkeby, tells NRK that

– We do our best to encourage people to keep their distance. The area is big enough, but people need it, says Gimstad-Kirkeby.

In addition, he says that they will bring experiences of the day to look for opportunities for improvement in the coming days.

– Among other things, we want to mobilize more staff who can encourage people to maintain the necessary distance, says Grimstad-Kirkeby.