Strengthens entry rules from April 1 – warns of “significant” fines – VG

Justice and Emergency Management Minister Monica Mæland (H) warns of a search for the dreaded import infection.

For many, the Easter holidays are already underway, and some have left the country. At the same time, the risk of a new national wave increases.

The Justice Minister has seen a slight increase in travel activity this Easter.

– Now we face this with stricter rules. Some disagree and some still travel, but we need to have a system around this, to make sure we don’t increase infection rates after Easter, Monica Mæland tells VG.

• As a general rule, the fewest possible trips abroad are recommended.
• All leisure travel is considered unnecessary, unless justified by strong wellness considerations.

– Do not travel now on unnecessary pleasure trips abroad. When you return to Norway, there are several rules that you must adhere to, such as the presentation of the coronate test taken 24 hours before arrival, the mandatory quarantine hotel and the duty to test yourself at the border and wait for the result. If you refuse to wait, you could face a significant fine, says Justice and Emergency Management Minister Monica Mæland (H).

I have to wait for the answers of the test.

What is new is that you have to wait until the test response has been taken, and that Norwegian citizens must also have submitted a corona test, taken within the last 24 hours.

Until now, the test has been mandatory for foreign travelers to Norway. The requirement is now also introduced for Norwegian citizens.

– Foreigners without examination carried out 24 hours before arrival, we can expel. We cannot deport Norwegians who come to Norway, but they can be fined. For these, we introduce requirements for tests performed 24 hours prior to arrival, then tests on arrival, and then seven days in quarantine. All of these are mandatory rules that can be fined. The fact that we can pay fines if it is not complied with will give us better control.

– Why is it important that those who test themselves have to wait for the test result?

– It has happened that positive people have not responded when they have been called with the result that people have given a false phone number. We introduce this rule to close the possibility of someone with a positive test result continuing to travel. The experience is that it takes a little over half an hour before the test answer is available.

This applies from midnight to April 1:

• Those coming to Norway from another country should, as a general rule, prove themselves at the border.
• Currently, rapid tests are offered at all border crossings.
• People who have been tested with a rapid test should wait at the test station until the test result is available, to the extent possible based on on-site conditions.
• Those who leave the test area in violation of the provision may be penalized with fines.

– The police decide the amount of the fine in each individual case, and there may be a prison term of up to six months. We have seen examples of fairly juicy fines. We do everything possible to prevent infection from imports, says Justice Minister Mæland to VG.

Detailed rules for traveling to and from abroad can be found at Helsenorge.no.

Retest requirement upon login

Check-in for entry must be within the last 24 hours prior to the scheduled departure time for the first part of the flight.

The requirement of a negative test certificate does not apply if it has been impossible or disproportionately demanding to obtain such a certificate.

– What’s in “demanding disproportionately”?

– For most people, it is not a problem to test yourself before traveling to Norway. We know that in some countries there are not as good testing opportunities for people without symptoms. If you have been working in the east, have stopped at Kastrup and testing is not possible, then we can deviate from the 24 hour requirement, if the situation can be documented. So far, this has not been a problem for foreigners coming to Norway, so there are very few cases.

– Is this enough to prevent import infection? Both FHI and Frp Have you asked for a ban on pleasure trips outside the country?

– This is pretty strict. We don’t deny that people travel, but we do everything we can to prevent import infections, that’s the point. The travel bans are a bit like the curfew debate and are very un-Norwegian. An exit ban is not on the table. We have an advice and it is “do not travel”, says the Minister of Justice.

– Since there is no prohibition, does everyone receive it and want to follow the rules?

– I think everyone understands this. Travel has been reduced by about 90 percent. Those traveling across the border are now mostly day travelers, who have exceptions due to children and in connection with the transportation of goods. They have their own testing regimen.

Oslo-Raymond: – Government recognition

– This is an important recognition by the government that border control has not been good enough.

That’s the opinion of Oslo City Councilor Raymond Johansen (Labor Party). Last week, he said he feared traveling abroad at Easter would lead to massive import infections.

– I welcome all such measures. We don’t know if that’s enough until we see the results from them. Previous measures at the border have proven insufficient to deal with the new variants of the virus, he writes to VG on Sunday.

The Oslo city council leader believes that one of the most important things we can do to prevent the importation of new varieties of the coronavirus is to protect our borders.

– We do this by raising the threshold for travel, requiring pre-travel and post-arrival testing, and using as many quarantined hotels as possible for those who have to travel.

More people should be quarantined in hotels

Monica Mæland announces a third change to the rules of entry to Norway from April 1.

This applies to those who are not required to quarantine inbound at quarantine hotels.

– There are stricter requirements for the place of residence. Whether it is a separate residence, an apartment or a rented or loaned cabin, there are requirements that it must be possible to maintain a sufficient distance. Those in quarantine must have a private room, a private bathroom, and their own kitchen or food service. If this is not possible, the person in question must go to a quarantine hotel, says Mæland.

– What is the difference when it comes to quarantine between necessary and unnecessary trips?

– If you have been on a necessary trip, such as spending time with children or a business trip, you must present a test that you have taken within the last 24 hours before arrival, test on arrival, wait for a response, and then go to your own home or another suitable location, says Mæland

If, on the other hand, the trip has been unnecessary, as all leisure trips are defined as, you will be transferred to a quarantine hotel, once the trial regime is finished on arrival.

– You must be there a minimum of seven days, until a new test with a negative result is carried out. It costs 500 crowns a night.

Until now, it has been possible to try out the hotel after three days, but that will be the end. Even if the test is negative, you are obliged to carry out the inbound quarantine.

Spouses, partners and children who live together in the country from which they travel and arrive together in Norway, can be in the same place in the entry quarantine.