Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday
Find out what’s going on in Norway on Tuesday with The Local’s short roundup of important news.
3,750 new Covid-19 cases
Monday saw a total of 3,750 new cases of Covid-19 registered by health authorities.
The figure is 334 higher than the average for the preceding seven days, which is 3,416, but 291 fewer than on Monday last week, when 4,041 were registered.
There are currently 328 patients with Covid-19 admitted to hospitals across Norway, an increase of 21 from the previous day. The highest number of hospitalised patients so far during the current wave was 383 on December 17th.
Capital Oslo saw 811 new infections in the last day.
READ ALSO: How has Christmas affected number of Covid-19 cases detected in Norway?
Sweden’s new travel restrictions come into force
As of today, many foreign travellers need to show a negative Covid test to be allowed to enter Sweden, regardless of whether or not they are fully vaccinated and regardless of which country they’re travelling from – non-EU, EU or any of the Nordic countries.
The test must have been carried out 48 hours before arriving in Sweden and the original test result document must be written in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English or French.
Swedish citizens and foreign residents who can prove they live in Sweden are still among the categories of travellers who are exempt from showing a negative test. But note that a separate recommendation to get tested after arriving in Sweden still applies to everyone, regardless of whether or not they had to show a test result on the border.
Driver loses license for not scraping ice from windscreen
A motorist in Moss Municipality has lost their licence for driving without removing ice from their windscreen, local police said.
In Twitter post, police published a picture of the offending windscreen – which appears near-opaque -- and said the driver's licence had been confiscated for driving “without due caution” after the car was reported to them for “very erratic driving”. The driver was also charged for the traffic offence.
#Moss, Ryggeveien: Føreren av dette kjøretøyet blir anmeldt og fratatt førerkortet sitt etter å ha kjørt uten å ha nok utsyn. Politiet ble oppmerksomme på kjøretøyet, etter meldinger fra publikum om svært vinglete kjøring. pic.twitter.com/YgTKrOYVZE
— Politiet i Øst (@politietost) December 28, 2021
Disqualification for an icy windscreen may seem harsh at initial glance, but is not unheard of in Norway, where traffic laws provide several options to police when motorists fail to ensure their windows are cleared.
READ ALSO: QUIZ: Would you pass the Norwegian driving theory test?
Burning of firewood in chimneys doubles amid high electricity prices
The sky-high price of energy appears to be encouraging many in Norway to turn to their fireplaces for heating.
Almost twice as much firewood as usual is currently being used for fireplaces and wood stoves, according to insurance firm IF. The trend was directly linked to the cost of electricity.
“This winter is special because electricity is so expensive. Many people are therefore using fireplaces to reduce their electricity bills,” the company’s head of communications Sigmund Clementz said in a press statement.
The insurance company has advised people using firewood to be alert to chimney fires and call fire services immediately should they be discovered, newspaper VG writes.
READ ALSO: Norway’s government agrees package to slash energy bills this winter
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3,750 new Covid-19 cases
Monday saw a total of 3,750 new cases of Covid-19 registered by health authorities.
The figure is 334 higher than the average for the preceding seven days, which is 3,416, but 291 fewer than on Monday last week, when 4,041 were registered.
There are currently 328 patients with Covid-19 admitted to hospitals across Norway, an increase of 21 from the previous day. The highest number of hospitalised patients so far during the current wave was 383 on December 17th.
Capital Oslo saw 811 new infections in the last day.
READ ALSO: How has Christmas affected number of Covid-19 cases detected in Norway?
Sweden’s new travel restrictions come into force
As of today, many foreign travellers need to show a negative Covid test to be allowed to enter Sweden, regardless of whether or not they are fully vaccinated and regardless of which country they’re travelling from – non-EU, EU or any of the Nordic countries.
The test must have been carried out 48 hours before arriving in Sweden and the original test result document must be written in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, English or French.
Swedish citizens and foreign residents who can prove they live in Sweden are still among the categories of travellers who are exempt from showing a negative test. But note that a separate recommendation to get tested after arriving in Sweden still applies to everyone, regardless of whether or not they had to show a test result on the border.
Driver loses license for not scraping ice from windscreen
A motorist in Moss Municipality has lost their licence for driving without removing ice from their windscreen, local police said.
In Twitter post, police published a picture of the offending windscreen – which appears near-opaque -- and said the driver's licence had been confiscated for driving “without due caution” after the car was reported to them for “very erratic driving”. The driver was also charged for the traffic offence.
#Moss, Ryggeveien: Føreren av dette kjøretøyet blir anmeldt og fratatt førerkortet sitt etter å ha kjørt uten å ha nok utsyn. Politiet ble oppmerksomme på kjøretøyet, etter meldinger fra publikum om svært vinglete kjøring. pic.twitter.com/YgTKrOYVZE
— Politiet i Øst (@politietost) December 28, 2021
Disqualification for an icy windscreen may seem harsh at initial glance, but is not unheard of in Norway, where traffic laws provide several options to police when motorists fail to ensure their windows are cleared.
READ ALSO: QUIZ: Would you pass the Norwegian driving theory test?
Burning of firewood in chimneys doubles amid high electricity prices
The sky-high price of energy appears to be encouraging many in Norway to turn to their fireplaces for heating.
Almost twice as much firewood as usual is currently being used for fireplaces and wood stoves, according to insurance firm IF. The trend was directly linked to the cost of electricity.
“This winter is special because electricity is so expensive. Many people are therefore using fireplaces to reduce their electricity bills,” the company’s head of communications Sigmund Clementz said in a press statement.
The insurance company has advised people using firewood to be alert to chimney fires and call fire services immediately should they be discovered, newspaper VG writes.
READ ALSO: Norway’s government agrees package to slash energy bills this winter
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