Advertisement

Norway set to add Copenhagen region to list of 'red' quarantine countries

The Local Denmark
The Local Denmark - [email protected]
Norway set to add Copenhagen region to list of 'red' quarantine countries
The Copenhagen-Oslo ferry. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

Health authorities in Norway have recommended the government advises against travel to Denmark’s Capital region, which includes Copenhagen.

Advertisement

Ireland, the United Kingdom, Austria and Greece are also set to be added to the list of ‘red’ countries.

Once a country or region is ‘red', the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against travel that is not strictly necessary to that country, and self-quarantine is required for travellers returning or arriving from it. 

Two of Denmark’s five Regions – Central Jutland and Zealand -- are already on the Norwegian ‘red’ list.

Should the Capital region be added as expected, only two Regions – North Jutland and Southern Denmark – will remain free of Norwegian travel restrictions.

Denmark’s foreign ministry in currently advising Danes who are travelling to Norway to “exercise caution”. The advice is also applicable to foreign citizens who live in Denmark.

In its travel guidelines, the Danish ministry writes that when travelling to Norway “you should bring documentation for where in Denmark you live, for example the yellow health insurance card. Changes in (Norwegian) quarantine rules mean you must be able to document where you live in Denmark”.

The Norwegian Institute for Public Health (NIPH) regularly updates its list of EEA and Schengen area countries which meet and do not meet the country's criteria for safe travel (the rate of new coronavirus infections must be less than 20 cases per 100,000 people for the last two weeks). For fellow Nordic countries, Norway's health authorities judge on a regional basis, which means parts of Denmark can be made ‘red’ without the restrictions applying to the country as a whole.

NIPH makes recommendations to the foreign ministry based on this list and new travel guidelines usually come into effect at the end of each week.

According to an NIPH statement on Tuesday, the UK (20.7 infections per 100,000 residents), Ireland (22.3), Greece (22.5), Austria (23.3) and Region Hovedstaden/Capital in Denmark (24) are now over the threshold.

The Hovedstaden Region consists of a total of 29 municipalities in the northern and eastern parts of Zealand, including Copenhagen and Frederiksberg municipalities in the capital city.

According to figures published by DR on Tuesday and taken from national agency State Serum Institute (SSI), both Copenhagen (17.2) and Frederiksberg (15.3) municipalities were under the Norwegian limit for number of infections per 100,000 residents between August 10th-17th (note this is one week – the Norwegian figure is taken over two weeks).

But other municipalities in the Region, including Høje-Taastrup (43.3), Brøndby (39.9), Ishøj (30.4), Gentofte (26.7) and Albertslund (25.2) are significantly above it.

Advertisement

In Norway, 'home quarantine' including for people arriving from 'red' countries means that person is asked to stay home from school or work, not have visitors, not use public transport and only visit shops or pharmacies if strictly necessary, and not at all if it is not possible to maintain social distance. You may have normal contact with people you live with, who are not in quarantine. You are also allowed to go outside for a walk if you maintain a one-metre distance from others at all times.

If you later suspect you have symptoms of coronavirus, you must isolate yourself completely and get tested for the virus. More details can be found on the health authority website.

Advertisement

Norway is now operating with a ‘red' and ‘yellow' categorisation regarding travel advice instead of the ‘red' and ‘green' labelling previously used.

The Norwegian foreign ministry also advises against non-essential travel to 'yellow' countries, but these countries do not have quarantine requirements for arrivals in Norway. If a European country is ‘green’ (none currently are) that means the foreign ministry does not advise against travel there.

Sweden’s region Norrbotten (19.2) is likely to go from ‘red’ to the lower advisory level of ‘yellow’ following an improvement in infection numbers.

The NIPH bases its recommendations on figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the EU agency monitoring the data, as well as national health authorities.

READ ALSO: Here's what you need to know about Denmark's 'phase four' reopening

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also