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Norway Scraps Entry Quarantine Rules

The change came into force on Wednesday and applies to all visitors.  It means skiers and snowboarders heading to the Scandinavian country will no longer have to quarantine, regardless of their vaccination status or whether they have a Covid-19 certificate. 

Up until Wednesday, only those people who were fully jabbed with a health pass – which includes the NHS Covid App –  were allowed into Norway without the need to quarantine.

Everyone else over the age of 18 travelling from a country inside the EEA/Schengen area or the UK that has high infection rates had to quarantine, along with travellers from all other countries. 

The quarantine period was for 10 days but could be shortened by a negative PCR test taken no earlier than three days after arrival.

The removal of this restriction will open up the slopes of Norway to more people.

People who aren’t fully vaccinated or don’t have a valid Covid certificate as proof of recovery will, however,  still need to take a test 24 hours before departing for Norway.

And everyone who enters must also have a test on arrival at the border and isolate if it is positive. 

Hafjell, Norway – Image © PlanetSKI

The lifting of quarantine rules came in a statement on the Norwegian government’s website.

“Following a recommendation from the National Institute of Public Health, the government is abolishing the requirement for entry quarantine, because it is no longer considered necessary for infection control,” the statement said.

The Institute found that people without a Covid-19 certificate made up 7% of registered travellers and 4% of cases of infection, therefore entry quarantine was not necessary.

“I agree with the NIPH that the proportion of infected among arrivals without a Covid certificate is so small related to the infection situation in Norway, that the time has come to change the requirement for entry quarantine,” Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol said.

See here for an earlier PlanetSKI feature article looking at what skiing in Norway has to offer:

Kvitfjell, Norway. Image © PlanetSKI

Kvitfjell, Norway. Image © PlanetSKI

Quarantine may be reintroduced if the infection situation worsens or a new virus variant emerges that requires stricter measures.

You can read the Norwegian Government statement here.

The full details of travel requirements for Norway are available on the Norwegian government website but as of midday on Thursday 27th January, they had not yet been updated to include the new information.

Kvitfjell, Norway – Image © PlanetSKI

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Image © PlanetSKI