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Norway to open up for travel to and from EU from mid-July

The Local Norway
The Local Norway - [email protected]
Norway to open up for travel to and from EU from mid-July
Erna solberg announced the relaxation of travel restrictions from mid July. Photo: Screengrab

Norway is ready to allow travel to and from EU and EEA countries from July 15th, so long as the level of infection in a country is within acceptable levels.

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"The government has decided that from July 15th, we will remove the need for quarantine after travel to the entire Schengen area and the EEA," Prime Minister Erna Solberg  said at Thursday's press conference. 
 
According to a press release, countries will be judged, among other things, on the number of infected persons in relation to the population, the proportion of people who test positive, and the quality of test regimes, infection tracking systems and information. 
 
According to NRK the criteria are that over the preceding two weeks: 
  • Fewer than 20 new people have tested positive for coronavirus per 100,000 inhabitants 
  • Fewer than 0.5 people per per 100,000 inhabitants have been admitted to hospital with coronavirus 
  • Less than five percent of coronavirus tests give are positive 

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Norway's health minister, Bent Høie, told the meeting that the criteria would currently allow travel to Germany, but not to Portugal or Spain, meaning Norway's criteria will be fairly similar to those that which will come into force for Danish people from this Saturday. 
 
"Right now Germany would have been green, Portugal red, but Spain is what we can call grey because we do not currently have enough data based on the criteria," Høie said. 
 
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has also updated its travel guidelines for regions in the Nordic countries, putting Gotland, the only region of Sweden deemed acceptable two weeks ago, now off-limits. 
 
"All journeys to Sweden now require quarantine upon return to Norway," Solberg said at the press conference. 
 
Norway currently judges Nordic regions on whether there have been fewer than 20 new people testing positive for coronavirus per 100,000 inhabitants over the past two weeks, if there have been on average fewer than 0.5 new admissions to intensive care per 100,000 inhabitants over the past two weeks, and that less than five percent of coronavirus tests are positive. 
 
At the press conference, Solberg warned that there is a risk that the Norwegian Institute of Public Health might reclassify a country as unsafe while a Norwegian citizen is on holiday there, meaning they might be unexpectedly forced to spend ten days in home isolation on their return. 
 
"If you want a predictable summer holiday, you should plan a holiday in Norway," she said. 
 
 
 
 

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