– Even Sweden is acting fast now – VG

Over Sunday, more and more countries have halted all flights from the UK, after it emerged that a variant of the mutated virus was ravaging south-east England.

Among the countries that have so far introduced denial of entry are Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Austria and Italy on the list.

However, Norway has not made a decision on what to do with travelers from the UK, with three planes arriving from the British capital on Sunday alone.

It has prompted the leader of the Oslo city council, Raymond Johansen, to call for immediate government action.

– Even Sweden is acting fast now. And their handling has not been characterized by the fact that they have been the fastest to act, Johansen told VG on Sunday night.

He fears that Oslo is the city that will be hit both first and hardest if the most infectious mutated variant of the coronavirus reaches Norway.

– I am surprised that the government has not yet introduced immediate measures. The government must take stronger action immediately. You just have to do it, emphasizes the town council leader and states:

– The right thing to do now is not have flights from the UK until we know more.

Ten new UK jets expected

Over the next few days, a total of ten new flights with passengers from the UK to Norway are expected, figures from Avinor show.

• December 21: two flights
• December 22: a flight
• December 23: Three flights
• December 26: a flight
• December 27: Three flights

At the same time, 2,771 passengers have arrived in Norway from the UK in recent weeks, according to figures Aftenposten has obtained from Avinor. Deputy Health Director Espen Rostrup Nakstad informs the newspaper that they have a “good overview” of air traffic on the route.

– But it is not such a good view of those who can travel through other countries, he says.

These figures make Councilor Johansen fear that all the efforts that Oslo residents have made in recent months may now be in vain.

– There are reasons for concern. We don’t want this in the country now. If it gets here, we’ll probably have to take even stronger action once more, says Johansen.

Now he is calling for the Minister of Justice and the government to unite and initiate measures against the arrival of aircraft from the United Kingdom.

– I hope the government can reassure us. This can have huge consequences, says the town council leader.

Ongoing voluntary testing for arrivals

The variant of the virus in question may be 70 percent more contagious than the original coronavirus, but it does not appear to cause more serious illness.

So far, the virus has been detected in Denmark, the Netherlands, and Australia, as well as the United Kingdom.

Late Sunday night, the Italian Health Ministry also announced that they have registered a patient in Italy with the new variant of the coronavirus that was discovered in the UK.

The patient returned with his partner from London one of the last days.
Read also: Chaos in London: Many are fleeing the city after a new variant of the virus spreads.

When three planes arrived from the UK at Gardermoen today, TV 2 was able to report that passengers were encouraged to test themselves upon arrival.

However, the test remains voluntary, despite the Norwegian Health Directorate issuing a recommendation on Sunday that the government should require all UK immigrants to take a covid-19 test, as well as to refer to a negative test upon arrival in Norway.

The Norwegian Health Directorate also suggested that everyone who has been in the UK in the past 14 days be tested for covid-19.

It is currently unclear whether the government will implement proposals to the Norwegian Health Directorate on mandatory testing.

Health Minister Bent Høie also told VG that they are considering new measures.

– We have strict entry measures, but we are now considering whether further measures need to be implemented, Høie told VG.