Massive pressure on the Border Service: – Reduced at Christmas:

March 12, 2020 will forever be an important day in Norwegian history. It was the day Prime Minister Erna Solberg announced that the government would introduce the most energetic and intrusive measures the country has ever experienced in peacetime, to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The consequences for Norwegian society, the Norwegian economy and business were immediate and enormous.

Unemployment skyrocketed, oil prices tumbled and tumbled, the crown exchange rate dropped sharply, Norwegians’ expectations of the country’s economy hit an all-time high, and a significant portion of Norwegian businesses and industries has since fallen.

Trigger the border alarm: – A corona disaster

But it is not only Norwegians who have felt serious. Because with the strict Norwegian guidelines, the closed borders with our eastern neighbors came into effect.

The worst situation has been for the Swedish border municipalities, which until 2020 have been able to expect a steady stream of Norwegian “Harry merchants”.

Cross-border trade collapsed a long time ago, unemployment in several Swedish border municipalities has skyrocketed, and politicians on both sides of the border have sounded the alarm about increased hostility between former good neighbors.

– Destroy Christmas dreams

Few people have more finger on the pulse than the Norwegian and Swedish employees of the Border Service, who literally have offices on the Swedish border.

The Norwegian-Swedish information service in Morokulien has been under tremendous pressure from concerned Norwegians and Swedes since March.

So far this year, they can report around 20,000 queries.

This Christmas has gotten extreme.

– Sometimes I feel like I spoil a lot of Christmas dreams, says Katharina Hagerud to Børsen.

She works as a consultant at the Border Service, and in recent weeks she has spent a lot of time explaining the regulations to Norwegians and Swedes who want to celebrate Christmas with their family in the neighboring country.

– Even if we don’t “own” the question, the information we provide makes people despair. I feel the despair of those with whom I speak, continue.

– Crying on the phone

As the Swedish national broadcaster SVT notes, the border has in principle been free to cross since the Nazis withdrew from Norway in 1945. It is now closed due to the corona global pandemic and strict Norwegian regulations for border crossings into and from Sweden.

Hagerud’s Swedish colleague Kjell Olsén also speaks of tremendous pressure towards the Christmas holidays.

– It affects many. Some get upset and others cry on the phone for understandable reasons. It also costs money if you have to cross the border, and some may not have it. In addition, there will be quarantine. So there are emotions associated with it. There is no doubt about that, Olsén tells SVT, who was the first to mention the case.

He adds:

– It is sad, but we cannot forget that it is a pandemic.

– It is awful

Postpone the Christmas celebration

With the exception of a few weeks with open borders to municipalities with low infection pressure, Norway has kept the borders practically closed. However, there have been some opportunities for everyone who lives and works on both sides of the Swedish border.

However, when Norwegian authorities introduced quarantine hotels last month, the situation became much more difficult for many, according to the Border Service gang. They notice this especially well this Christmas.

– It has become very tight and it is not as easy to pass as before. People visiting relatives across the border must bring a negative corona test and be quarantined for ten days. Then there are many who are not allowed to be with those whom you want to visit.

Most of the questions come from people living in Sweden. Hagerud herself lives in Norway, while her mother lives in Lidköping.

– In fact, I was supposed to celebrate Christmas with my mother in Sweden this year, but it must be postponed, she says.

– We can do nothing more than report on the official guidelines. There is understanding for that, even if some are irritable to begin with. People understand that we will get rid of the infection that we have around us, but there are many who say that “they would love to visit my parents”, or “my children”.

It’s painful to hear, even for a Border Service advisor.

“Experiment of the times”: – We are right

Christmas shopping is plummeting

Some Olympic javelin throws from the border are department stores and malls in Charlottenberg. There is a whole business community built around the expectation of a steady stream of shopping-loving Norwegians.

Now it is almost deserted.

– There it is silent as in the grave. Many have reduced opening hours, reduced staff and reduced the entry of goods. It affects the whole of society. Especially now at Christmas, when Norwegians should have gone shopping for food and drink, Hagerud says.

Last week, December 13-19, consumption in Sweden was 19 percent lower than in the corresponding week last year. Pandemics and restrictions are to blame.

– It’s tragic to watch. Hypermat is probably the largest grocery store in the Nordic region. There are only a few cars parked outside. You notice it in the mood.

– Miss us

Although he heard the Swedes joke that it was good to get away from the Norwegians for a while, it is clear that the situation now is difficult.

– I think they probably miss us.

– If I think back to a year ago, there is a big difference. If we had had this talk last year, there would have been a queue in the street outside the window.

Cross-border trade can double by 2030

– How is car traffic outside your window now?

It gets quiet at the other end of the pipe. The seconds pass.

Only after a good rest does Hagerud’s reply come:

– There was a car, but it is one of the rarities.

Figures from the Swedish Public Health Agency show that Sweden, after all sun brands, will exceed 400,000 cases of infection over the Christmas weekend. Nearly 8,300 people have died in the pandemic in neighboring Norway.

In Norway, the corresponding figure is 44,900 infected and 421 dead since the outbreak of the pandemic.