– If you are from areas that have elevated measures now, you should not visit family elsewhere in the country and do not go to stay in hotels elsewhere in the country, said Minister of Health Bent Høie on NRK’s Nyhetsmorgen on Thursday.
– This means that if you are from, for example, Oslo or Viken, but are originally from Bergen, you should not go home and live with parents or in-laws.
The statement created complete confusion about what applies to the upcoming Easter holiday.
– Do not visit family
Discourages travel
Høie explains to Dagbladet that there are now two things that apply to traveling on Easter holidays:
- In areas with high infection pressure it is advised against to travel.
- In the other areas of the country, a general advice applies to avoid unnecessary travel.
– These very strict advice apply to areas with high infection, says the Minister of Health.
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The areas with high infection pressure include Salten / Bodø, Haugalandet, Kristiansand, the six former Vestfold municipalities, and Oslo and Viken. In addition, there are individual municipalities, which may have similarly strict rules.
– If you live here, you should not travel and stay in hotels, and you should not travel and visit others. And it is also the case that if you live in these areas, you should not accept visits from other parts of the country either, Høie tells Dagbladet.
In a municipality where you are advised against or forbidden to visit private homes, you can travel to the cottage with the household, or one or two close if you live alone, but you should not have guests or meet others. It is also encouraged to shop before leaving.
– For the rest of the country, we have a general advice to avoid unnecessary travel and then it will be more up to the individual.
He explains that, for example, it is okay to travel from Trondheim to Tromsø to visit at Easter.
– Then you travel from an area with little infection and to an area with little infection. Then there is less risk.
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Going to the cabin
He emphasizes that the advice does not apply to business travelers and commuters.
– Work is a necessary journey, and it is also job commuting.
High falls even under this category.
– I’m going home to Stavanger. I’m a weekly commuter. And then I’ll probably be at the cabin most of Easter.
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– Do you fear that it may send the wrong signal, when there are so many who have to stay home?
– No, it is within the advice and rules that apply, for me as for many others.
– But are you not afraid to bring infection from Oslo to Stavanger?
– I am very conscious of avoiding infection in everyday life, and test myself if I get symptoms, as we should do.
Clear message to the cabin people
Student exceptions
However, there are exceptions for other than the commuters, such as for students who live in the infected areas.
– Students, ie those who have not necessarily moved away from home and may have a room at home with mom and dad, for them it is perfectly fine to go home at Easter, as long as they adhere to the rules that apply, he says, and adds :
– Then it is important to emphasize that it does not mean that being a student is a free card. For example, if you are well-established in Oslo, with a cohabitant and family, but happen to be a student, then you can not visit another place in the country and take your family with you.
– What about those who live alone?
– Single people can have or be visited by another household, or one or two regular, close friends. Then I think that if you do not have any close friends in Oslo for example, and live alone, then you are in a situation like the students, and you can travel. But you have to be extra careful. We make exceptions so that people will not be lonely, he says.
