As of Monday, Norway will close airports and ports and also provide strict controls at the country’s borders.
The past few days have been completely unreal for me and probably for all of you.
This was initially stated by Norway’s prime minister, Erna Solberg, before announcing earlier today that Norway is now following suit with Denmark and closing its borders.
From next week, foreign passengers by air and ship that do not have ‘good reason to stay in Norway’ will be sent back, NRK writes.
At the same time, control of the country’s border crossings will be tightened, so that only goods, medicines and Norwegians can move in and out.
It is a serious situation that requires a lot of us. We have been put to a great test – not just here, but worldwide. Many of us feel that our lives have been turned upside down, Erna Solberg said.
The number of infected people with coronavirus in Norway has increased by 157 people in the past 24 hours. Thus, 907 infected persons have been registered in the country so far, the health authorities said.
Third Norwegian deaths
Shortly after the Prime Minister’s press conference, Norway saw its third death as a result of Covid-19, NRK writes.
This is an elderly person in the Oslo area who died earlier this week. Subsequently, they were tested for coronavirus and today the authorities were able to confirm that the test has proved to be positive.
The same procedure earlier today has meant that Denmark has found its first case of death .
In line with Denmark, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs now also discourages all unnecessary travel to all countries in the world.
At the same time, the ministry is asking all Norwegians abroad to go home.
We are in a serious and increasingly unpredictable situation. Our priority is to take care of life and health. This requires extraordinary intervention, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said in a press release.
The situation is changing rapidly in many countries. And that is why we now advise travel that is not strictly necessary to all countries, she writes.