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Updated at 4:26 PM: The Norwegian Health Directorate requests that a crowning test be introduced for all UK travelers immediately.
The National Institute of Public Health writes in a statement on Sunday that they have proposed to the Ministry of Health and Care Services that to gain time to acquire more knowledge about this variant, the following should be considered:
- Strengthen quarantine compliance and reporting for UK travelers (i.e. anyone who has been to the UK in the last 14 days).
- Advise all UK travelers (including Norwegian citizens) on PCR testing within 24 hours of arrival in Norway (in addition to the current requirement for a negative test 72 hours prior to entry into Norway).
- Take a closer look at the quarantine exemption rules for UK travelers and consider adjusting them.
Ask for a test for everyone
Just before 4.30pm on Sunday, NTB announced that the Norwegian Health Directorate was requesting that a crowning test be introduced for all arrivals from the UK immediately.
– 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 the National Institute of Public Health to discover new mutations of the virus, said division director Johan Torgersen of the Norwegian Health Directorate in a press release Sunday afternoon.
All UK travelers are required to present a negative covid-19 test upon arrival in Norway and must follow quarantine rules, writes the address.
Stops flights
On Sunday afternoon, the World Health Organization (WHO) called on European member states to tighten measures against the coronavirus following news that a rapidly spreading, mutated variant of the virus has appeared in the UK, according to AFP.
The Netherlands was the first to ban flights from the UK to its own country on Sunday. The ban went into effect on Sunday morning, according to the Bloomberg news agency, and will last until at least January 1.
London closes for Christmas. (Photo: Alberto Pezzali / AP Photo / NTB)
Italy and Vienna in Austria follow suit, while Belgium introduces a ban on both flights and train travel from the UK to the country.
French television channel BFM reports that authorities are “seriously” assessing whether France should also stop flights.
According to the channel, President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone on Sunday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Germany is also considering stopping flights in and out of the UK, according to AFP.
The leader of the conservative Moderaterna party in Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, will also introduce a travel ban from the UK due to the new variant of the virus.
On his Facebook page, he writes that he is “deeply concerned” by the UK news.
Turns off
In south-east England, there has been a rapid increase in infection from week 41 to week 50. Many of the cases are due to a new variant of the coronavirus. The variant has several changes, that is, mutations and deletions, in areas of the virus that are important for infectivity.
According to the British authorities, the new variant of the virus is likely up to 70 percent more contagious. In some parts of the UK, therefore, stricter measures are being introduced in areas where this virus has been detected. The variant has also been found in other countries, including Denmark.
It was on Saturday that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reported on the new mutation of the virus that devastated the country. At the same time, he announced that London and several parts of the south-east of England would be closed for Christmas. From now on it is not allowed to travel in or out of areas that are now categorized as level four, at the same time it is forbidden to celebrate Christmas with other people than those who live together.
Health Minister Matt Hancock followed up on Sunday, telling the BBC that the situation is spiraling out of control and that a series of strict measures will therefore need to be introduced.
Urge the British to behave as if they are infected.
– What I want to tell everyone is that if they behave as if they have the virus, it will prevent the virus from spreading to others, and everyone has a responsibility, says Hancock.
NIPH: – Undiscovered in Norway
The National Institute of Public Health is now monitoring mutations and other changes in the coronavirus both domestically and internationally.
– We pay special attention to changes in this spike protein that is the tag of the virus, because it is very important for the ability of the virus to infect humans. This is also the area where most vaccines are directed. If major changes occur there, it can have an impact on infectivity. Theoretically, it can also make tests less sensitive and vaccination less effective, but so far these are just hypotheses, says the director of the Line Vold department of the National Institute of Public Health in a press release.
– To date, we have not discovered virus variants in Norway, where we have concluded that the changes have affected infectivity, as the new virus variant in the UK probably appears to have, says Vold.
Considering stricter measures
– It is important that we act quickly to try to prevent this variant of the virus from reaching Norway and spreading further nationally here in Norway, says the Minister of Health and Care Services, Bent Høie in a press release.
– Everyone who has arrived from the UK in the last 14 days must comply with the quarantine rules. We have strict entry measures, but are now considering whether further measures need to be implemented, he adds.
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.
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- It closely follows the situation with the Nordic and European sister institutes and assesses the risk for Norway.
- It intensifies the monitoring of virus variants by informing medical-microbiological laboratories and collecting relevant samples from them.
- It informs city councils that they should pay special attention to UK infection and notes this on samples sent to laboratories.
- Find out what vaccine and test providers are reporting about this variant.
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