Government decides to stop UK air traffic this morning – NRK Norway – Summary of news from different parts of the country

Many other countries have stopped flights because they fear the new corona mutation.

Denmark is also halting UK air traffic due to the new crown variant. Sweden and Finland, among others, do the same.

Of Norway’s neighboring countries, only Russia has not introduced restrictions on British air traffic.

Call an emergency meeting

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called an emergency meeting today as a result of much of Europe introducing a total air strike.

Health Minister Bent Høie told NRK that the decision to stop air traffic from the UK will be made this morning.

– We must be prepared for this to happen on short notice, during the morning. The Norwegian Health Directorate and the National Institute of Public Health have worked on new assessments for the government and will present them today, he told Nyhetsmorgen this morning.

The next plane from London was scheduled to land at Gardermoen at 15.55 today.

The Norwegian Health Directorate will find out if the new and more contagious variant of the UK virus has reached Norway. They asked on Sunday that everyone who has been to the UK for the past two weeks take the COVID-19 test.

– We ask that everyone who has been in the UK for the last 14 days, and those who are now arriving in Norway, be tested for covid-19. The tests will be analyzed at FHI to detect new mutations of the virus, says the division director of the Norwegian Health Directorate, Johan Torgersen.

Quarantine rules can be changed

The National Institute of Public Health has stepped up monitoring for viruses in laboratories and has sent a message to all municipalities to be more vigilant if travelers from England are tested.

The Norwegian Health Directorate has been tasked with reinforcing information on quarantine rules for those coming or coming from the UK in the last 14 days. They will also consider whether people who have arrived from the UK in the last 14 days or who will arrive in the future will be offered a PCR test, i.e. a laboratory test, after their arrival.

In addition, they will consider tightening the quarantine exemption rules for travelers from the UK.

2,771 passengers have arrived in Norway from the UK in the past two weeks, according to figures obtained by Avinor’s Aftenposten.

Støre and Johansen are pushing

On Sunday evening, Oslo City Councilor Raymond Johansen wrote on Facebook that the government should consider closing the borders for UK travelers.

– I hope this time we have learned and can be safe. If we follow Belgium, the Netherlands and the other countries, we can save ourselves more time.

Johansen has the support of Labor leader Jonas Gahr Støre. He writes on Twitter that effective measures must be implemented and communicated before planes take off.

– this was expected

Espen Rostrup Nakstad, deputy health director for the Norwegian Health Directorate, says there is still a lot of uncertainty about the new variant of the virus that has been found in the UK.

– I don’t think work will be wasted with new vaccines. We had a history of mutations in Denmark and we expected the virus to mutate. We must closely monitor whether the new varieties are more contagious, he says.

Many countries have stopped flights

The Netherlands and Belgium closed all flights from the UK on Sunday after a new variant of the coronavirus was found. Germany is considering doing the same.

It is estimated that the new variant of the virus now spreading in the UK may be 70% more contagious than the original variant. Therefore, England is imposing extra stringent restrictions on areas where the virus has been detected.

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