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Tomm Kristiansen approaches the new government quarantine scheme.
The Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness introduced a hotel quarantine system with effect from November 9. The aim of the plan is to limit the infection of imports, and the main point is that everyone should be quarantined from the start for ten days. This quarantine must be done in a quarantine hotel.
ALWAYS UPDATED: Latest news on corona pandemic in Nettavisen news studio
However there are some exceptions. If you live or own a home in Norway, you can self-quarantine in your own home. Another important exception is that those who are registered in Norway or have reported moving to Norway, even if they are not yet registered, can also be quarantined in their own home.
– Ribs in Gardermoen
This plan hits the former NRK Africa correspondent very hard. Kristiansen has a wife who lives and works in South Africa, and under current regulations, the 70-year-old will not be meeting his wife Sharon Coetzee for Christmas. He has lived with Kristiansen for 15 years, but now lives and works in Cape Town.
He also changed his residential address to Cape Town for the sake of bank cards and mobile subscriptions. This is exactly what now puts Kristiansen’s partner in a real bind.
The 70-year-old explains his great frustration in a lengthy Facebook post, where he writes, among other things:
“You have to celebrate Christmas in an airport hotel, because you have Cape Town as your place of residence (for reasons of bank cards and mobile passes). I can lock her in the guest room for ten days of quarantine, I can have my own curfew. It doesn’t help. Sharon has to eat the ribs at Gardermoen.
NRK bauta, with more than 30 years at the public broadcaster before retiring in February, believes that current regulations are too rigid. It goes straight to the throat of the government.
– Norwegians have volunteered for national service. The government has benefited from our willingness to volunteer, but then it just thinks it can stretch the elastic further. They have become blind to how far they can go beyond people’s privacy. Here, the Minister of Justice and Emergency Management, Monica Mæland, has stepped out of the line and intervenes in my love life, Kristiansen tells Nettavisen.
The Minister of Health and Care Services sees some optimism, even though the infection is at a record level right now:
Residence documentation
Kristiansen fully understands that Norway must limit import infection and that quarantined hotels are a good idea for certain groups.
– I have no problem with tourists and other visitors who do not have an address here, being placed in a quarantine hotel. But I don’t understand that my wife and other people who have an address to come to Norway cannot be quarantined in that house, says Kristiansen.
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He is fully aware that the regulations must be changed and believes that the solution is not difficult.
– The government can easily solve this. There are several thousand who come to Norway and can document that they have a place to live. If you have a visa, like my wife’s, it will be indicated in the documentation that she has a home to return to. There are also other ways to document that you have a place to live in Norway, even if it is not registered here.
– At Christmas, there will be many Norwegians who own or rent an apartment in Norway, but since they no longer have an address registered here, they will be sent to quarantined hotels in Gardermoen. It’s sad, says the 70-year-old.
The online newspaper has been in contact with the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness, but they refer to what Minister of Justice and Emergency Preparedness Monica Mæland said at the latest press conference, and a separate written statement below:
– These are intrusive measures and, in some cases, they can have significant consequences for people, people who do not get to meet family and friends in Norway, but it is absolutely necessary. The infection that has crossed the border has therefore been a big problem, and we also see that these measures work with fewer people who come and that is good. It may seem strict and disproportionate, but it is necessary, Mæland said at the government press conference.
– Do not quarantine in your own home
In an email Thursday night, the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Management writes the following:
– Korona’s situation is difficult for many, whether they are people who have been laid off, have lost their jobs or cannot see their loved ones. The Ministry understands that many people find this demanding, but now we are in a situation that requires stronger measures. Many countries are now in the red and the evolution in Norway is not good.
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– We see that imported infection constitutes a large part of the development of infection in Norway. Unfortunately, experience shows that it is not enough to implement the quarantine period in private homes and other places where it is difficult to keep your distance. Therefore, we have decided that those who do not have their own home privately or through an employer should be in quarantine hotels for 10 days, writes communications consultant Andreas Bondevik to Nettavisen.
He adds that there is still little hope that things will change before Christmas.
– The introduction of quarantine hotels is one of several measures to reduce infection pressure and reduce import infections. Health authorities have believed that we must take steps to strengthen compliance with quarantine requirements. We are now at a crossroads where the decisions we make in the future will be decisive for the further development of the infection. The objective of the measures is to be able to open up to Christmas if the contagion situation so dictates. It won’t be possible for the time being, but we will reconsider in early December, Bondevik writes.
Get strong stories
Kristiansen is also not the only one frustrated by this, and according to himself, he has learned about several important stories.
– I receive many inquiries from people in the same situation. This strongly affects many people. Children who come to Norway to visit their stepmother / adoptive family must be left alone for ten days in a quarantine hotel.
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– I also know that the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness has received tons of inquiries on how to change the regulations. It is not about walking away from quarantine. These are people who have a place to live in Norway and can document a negative test and point to a place of residence, they should not be sent to a quarantine hotel, concludes Kristiansen.
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