She had rented an apartment but was sent to a quarantine hotel. – Now I feel relieved.

Even with a negative corona test and a contract for an apartment in his luggage, Torunn Oskarsdottir was sent to a quarantine hotel in Oslo. You can now leave the hotel after the new rules go into effect.

– He knew the quarantine rules and had rented an apartment in Tøyen for a few days, says Torunn Oskarsdottir, who arrived in Gardermoen from Iceland on Saturday.

She thought that a negative corona test and a lease in the apartment would be enough to allow her to go to the apartment.

But that wasn’t the case when the Icelander landed at Gardermoen on Saturday.

– There was a pretty tense atmosphere at the airport. Already at passport control it was chaos. People were very close in line for passports. The guards followed us all the way. I was not allowed to go tax-free. When I went to the bathroom, a security guard followed me to the door. But eventually they told me to go to the Anker Hotel in Oslo, where they would quarantine me for ten days, Oskarsdottir says.

Aftenposten meets her at the hotel shortly after the rules on quarantined hotels were changed at 5 p.m. Sunday. The changes mean that Oskarsdottir can now leave the hotel.

There are now a total of four quarantined hotels in the Oslo area. Three of them are in Gardermoen. Furthermore, Anker Hotel is located in the center of Oslo.

The new rules allow people who are already in quarantined hotels to spend the rest of the quarantine in another suitable place.

At 8.30pm on Sunday, the Ullensaker Municipality reports that 92 guests have left the Gardermoen hotels after the new regulations came into force. Aftenposten has not yet received figures for the hotel in central Oslo.

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The most important change is that people who have a different purpose for their stay in Norway than work or assignments, and who can document that they have another place of residence suitable for quarantine, should not be in quarantine hotels.

– Some of the rules related to quarantined hotels have been criticized and perceived as unfair. I understand that. So now we have changed several of them, and I hope this can make the trip home easier for Christmas. At the same time, everyone should remember to carry out the quarantine according to infection control rules, says Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Monica Mæland (H).

Before you can leave the hotel, you must complete a self-declaration form. Among other things, you must indicate where you will live for the rest of the quarantine period.

Just before 6pm, several people walked through Anker Hotel with a self-declaration form in hand. At 6 pm, they were to receive more information at an informational meeting.

As for the hotels in Gardermoen, it was reported on Saturday that it was quite full. Several of those who flew into Gardermoen were sent to the Anker Hotel.

After 92 people left the quarantined hotels in Gardermoen on Sunday night, they still have 746 guests there.

– We expect significantly less pressure on hotels in the future, but it is difficult to say exactly what the effect of the new regulations will be, says Roger Sandum, communications manager in the municipality of Ullensaker.

500 crowns per day

– So far I have paid 1500 kroner for a hotel stay. Now that I am leaving here, I hope to get a refund of part of the amount. I’m retired and already paid to rent an apartment in Tøyen, says Oskarsdottir.

The plan is to move in with the daughter and grandchildren after the quarantine period is over.

– I’m relieved by the new rules. Now I go to an information meeting and look from here, says the 73-year-old.

There were just under 30 people at the information meeting at 6 p.m.

Communications advisor Caroline Bremer from the Health Service said at 6.30 p.m. Sunday that so far none of those in quarantine had left the hotel.

– We are informing the guests. And then we have to verify that they have a suitable place to stay before they can leave the hotel. Now we are working on the case, says Bremer.