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The government says one thing: no, you are not required to stay at the quarantine hotel in Gardermoen. However, police practice has been different.
The quarantine hotel plan has received much criticism. Regulations on where the quarantine will take place are creating confusion. Photo: Olav Olsen
Foreigners coming to Norway to visit their girlfriend have been sent to quarantined hotels in Gardermoen even though they have a ticket to another city in Norway.
The practice is contrary to government guidelines, those affected say.
During the week, an Asian woman lands on Gardermoen. She is engaged to a Norwegian in the northwest and they will marry in Norway.
There is no doubt that the woman must spend the first ten days in quarantine hotels, at a price of 500 kronor. day and night. That rule stands firm. But it is not clear if she should already take the quarantine stay in Gardermoen or if she can fly to the quarantine hotel in the city where her boyfriend lives.
The confusion and annoyance is great among the members of the Facebook group “We with family or boyfriend abroad during covid-19”.
They experience that the police say one thing, while the Ministry of Justice and municipal chiefs have said something else. Aftenposten has gained access to various email exchanges which can give a confusing impression.
Divergent messages
“The current procedure is that if you land at Oslo airport, you must be quarantined in a quarantine hotel connected to Oslo airport.” It is stated in an email from the border control section of the Eastern Police District on December 4.
But the message apparently was different in a circular that was sent from the Directorate of Safety and Emergency Preparedness (DSB) to county governors on Nov. 24. The Ministry of Justice had carried out an evaluation. And come to the conclusion that the traveler could choose the quarantined hotel himself.
“The Ministry of Justice informs that there is no obligation to stay in the quarantine hotel of the place of arrival for travelers who are forced to stay in quarantine hotels,” the circular said.
“If the traveler wishes to quarantine in a quarantine hotel in another municipality, this will be possible, if a quarantine hotel has been established in the municipality and there is capacity in the quarantine hotel in question”, Keep going.
In principle, public transport should not be used by people in quarantine. But in the guidelines posted on regjeringen.no, an exception is made for the actual trip to the quarantine site.
The government says you are not required to stay in the quarantine hotel at the place of arrival. However, the police sent transit passengers to the Gardermoen quarantine hotel, despite being confirmed for a location in a quarantine hotel elsewhere. Photo: Olav Olsen
Several municipal doctors, including the municipal doctor in Ullensaker, where Gardermoen is located, have interpreted the regulations so that it must be possible for transit passengers from abroad to fly to their final destination in Norway.
However, the police have considered that their task is limited to border control. This is what Ragnhild Aass, head of the border control section in the Eastern Police District says.
– Our task has been to evaluate the entry conditions. So far, we have perceived that our role ends there, and we refer to the municipality everything that has to do with quarantine stays, he says.
Sent straight to quarantine stay in Gardermoen
The question arose when a New York woman landed in Gardermoen a few days ago on her way to her boyfriend in northern Norway. She only had an hour to get to the plane, but was instead escorted by security guards to the trunk and quarantined at the Runway Hotel.
Upon arrival at the hotel, the woman definitely said no to check-in and instead insisted on speaking with the Ullensaker Township representative at the hotel. Here they held her: the representative of the municipality made it clear that they could not force her to quarantine herself here. The trip was back to the airport by taxi, and SAS arranged for her a place on subsequent flights to northern Norway, where she was quarantined.
Christine Romarheim was to receive a visit from her boyfriend Brian Mubiana from Zambia. Both are now living in quarantine hotels in Gardermoen. Photo: Private
Christine Romarheim from Haugesund had a similar experience. She was going to receive a visit from her boyfriend Brian Mubiana from Zambia. On Sunday, Mubiana landed at Gardermoen.
To be sure, the couple had received confirmation that there was room for Mubiana in a quarantine hotel in Stavanger. He had the documents ready upon arrival, but never had a chance to show them to the border police.
– Instead, they told him there were strict rules in Norway and that he had to go straight to quarantined hotels, says Romarheim.
As his girlfriend had lost her luggage on the road, Romarheim had to travel from Haugesund to Ullensaker to deliver clothes and things to her. Now she lives temporarily in the quarantine hotel, separated from her partner and in a section for those who are not in quarantine.
Working with solutions
The mixed messages from the police and government have created great frustration among those affected. Now, however, the police must have received a clear message about what the practice should be for passengers in transit:
– It has been clearly reported that people who can confirm that they have a place in a quarantine hotel in the municipality where they will stay, will be able to travel beyond Gardermoen.
Andreas Skjøld-Lorange, communications advisor to the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness, writes in an email to Aftenposten.
– The ministry will contact the relevant agencies on Monday to make sure that the authorities meeting the travelers are aware of this, it says.
The police, for their part, are working to rectify decisions that have not been adequate.
– It has been difficult to implement the changes that come continuously in practice. We understand that it has been unfortunate, but now we are working on solutions. It will be better in the future, says Ragnhild Aass in the Eastern Police District.
