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– We have received a positive case of covid-19 for the first time at the Råde arrival center. Infection tracking has started and all residents will be screened today, says local UDI representative at the arrivals center, Knut Jostein Berglyd.
The arrivals center is located next to the E6 motorway in Råde en Østfold. This is the first stop for people who want to apply for asylum in Norway.
On Friday, 48 asylum seekers live in the tent at the arrivals center. Everyone must stay indoors for nine days.
– All asylum seekers are considered close contacts and have been quarantined. None of them can leave the center until at least October 18, Berglyd says.
Had no symptoms
According to Berglyd, the infected person must be a single man who applied for asylum at the end of September. He had no symptoms of illness when he arrived at the center.
– But after two or three days, symptoms were discovered and he was immediately isolated and examined. Obviously this is not a good thing and it is something we have worked hard to avoid, but we are prepared for it to happen, says Berglyd.
There is plenty of space within the actual tent room in the center and there are now 550 beds available in different tents.
The center’s management and the Råde municipal chief are now working intensively on various fronts to get an overview of the infection. Mapping of the center’s employees has also begun.
– Most employees are not considered close contacts. If any of the employees are described as a close contact, then they should prove themselves in their home municipality, Berglyd says.
Does not admit new asylum seekers
The arrivals center management has decided to close the center for the time being. No new asylum seekers will be admitted until Monday at the earliest.
– Then we will have a better overview. The UDI is working on alternative solutions on how we will receive asylum seekers who may arrive in the country this weekend, Berglyd says.
Asylum seekers coming to Norway are asked to answer a series of questions about their own health, travel here and contact with people with symptoms of coronary heart disease.
The local UDI representative at the arrivals center, Knut Jostein Berglyd, shows the quarantine area and the barracks outside the center.
Photo: Rahand Bazaz / NRK
Earlier this spring, two “crown barracks” were set up outside the center. Each barrack can accommodate two people for up to 14 days.
The asylum seeker who has been confirmed infected is now isolated in one of these barracks.
