Mandatory masks, distance, home visitor limits - Current restrictions in Norway

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- The danger of overloading the health sector and the spread of a new infectious omicron variant requires new stringent measures, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Labor) said at a press conference on Tuesday evening.

According to the prime minister, this year we will also have another Christmas celebration.

- We would love to end the pandemic. But now the situation is still so serious that we need to introduce new measures to maintain control, says Støre.

To avoid overcrowded hospitals, overburdened health and care services and a new closure, the government opted for new national measures.

All measures take effect on Thursday.

Distance and social contact

• Everyone should keep a distance of 1 meter from other than household members.
• The recommendation does not apply to children in kindergartens and primary schools. There are also exceptions for adults who work with services for children, adolescents and vulnerable groups.
• Apart from your own household, there should be no more than 10 guests in the house. You can receive up to 20 guests at a time during Christmas and New Year's holidays, but there should be one meter of distance between the guests. Everyone needs to be mindful of who they meet in order to control the spread of the virus.
• Children in kindergartens and primary schools may have visits from their own group / class / ward, even if this exceeds the recommended number of guests.
• Reduce the number of close contacts, but don't isolate yourself.
• Meet others in the fresh air whenever possible.

Current restrictions in Norway. Organized recreational activities

• Recreational activities should be conducted outdoors if possible, and changing rooms should be closed.
• For organized indoor recreational activities, it is recommended that adults over 20 years of age be in groups of up to 20 people. In addition, adults who are indoors are advised to maintain a sufficient distance to exercise and a distance of 2 meters during high-intensity training.
• There are no specific recommendations regarding the distance and number of children and adolescents under the age of 20 who train and participate in sports, cultural and recreational activities.

Schools, kindergartens and SFO

• Regular testing in schools with high pressure on infections.
• Municipalities will re-apply the color-based warning model in schools and kindergartens if necessary. The starting point is the green level, unless otherwise agreed locally.
• Meetings can be organized for children in kindergarten or primary school with whole classes / units / groups with the required number of adults.
• Universities and vocational colleges should introduce practical teaching in smaller groups and introduce digital teaching as soon as possible. Students who are dependent on laboratory experiments or skills training should be given priority to participate.
• Universities and vocational colleges should facilitate exams and compulsory courses, both digital and physical, where good infection control is practicable. The same goes for other adult education institutions.

Office premises

• Recommendation of a distance of 1 meter and increased use of the home office.
• Recommendation for face masks if distance cannot be kept, unless physical barriers such as partitions etc. are used.
• Home offices and face masks do not apply to services where this prevents workers from performing necessary and statutory tasks when meeting with vulnerable groups and with children and young people.

Room ventilation

• Good ventilation is recommended in situations where you are in the same room for a long time with people who are not in your household or with relatives.

Events and meetings

• Up to 20 people in a private meeting in a public place, in a rented or rented premise
• Funeral services after funerals may have a maximum number of 50 people. The funeral itself is considered a public event with permanent seating, see below.
• 3 x groups of 200 people at a distance of 2 meters between groups at public events with permanent allocated places.
• Maximum 50 people at public events without permanent allocated seats.
• At indoor events, an organizer should be appointed to have an overview of who is present and the implementation should be professional.
• Serving alcohol ends at midnight at licensed events.
• The organizer ensures that everyone who is present at the hall events is able to keep at least 1 meter distance from other people who are not in the same household. There are exceptions to several groups, incl. for athletes at cultural and sports events, participants of certain courses and those who are in the same group in kindergarten or primary school.
• For events where everyone in the audience sits in permanently assigned seats, sufficient distancing will exist if the organizer ensures that spectators have at least one empty seat between them in the same row of seats from the moment they arrive at the event. People from the same household they can sit closer to each other upon arrival.

Restaurants

• Order the restaurant to provide everyone with the option of keeping a distance of 1 meter from other than household members. After guests arrive, the distance between the seats must be at least 1 meter so that people in the same household can sit closer together.
• Alcohol licensed restaurants are required to seat all guests, but this is not required for restaurant cultural events.
• Alcohol can only be served at the tables.
• No more serving alcohol or 24.00.
• The restaurant must register contact details for guests who give their consent.

Current restrictions in Norway. Masks

• Mandatory for the use of face masks when it is not possible to keep at least 1 meter in shops, shopping malls, restaurants, public transport, taxis and internal stations. The order also applies to workers, unless physical barriers are applied.
• The masks also apply to hairdressers, dermatologists and other individual companies.
• There is already a nationwide recommendation to wear a face mask where there are a lot of people and it is difficult to keep your distance, such as when you are going to pick up your jacket after a party at the same time as many others or when you leave a soccer stadium.

Home office

• Require employers to facilitate home offices wherever possible, without prejudice to services that require attendance important and necessary for the company, for example to care for children and vulnerable groups.

Quarantine

• The obligation to quarantine close contacts with a confirmed infected person when there is a suspicion of a omicron is extended to also other close contacts, not only household members.

Source: NTB
Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB

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