If you’re tired of endless talk about coronavirus, if you’re tired of wearing a face mask, if you don’t want to show your passport to everyone in a row, or maybe you don’t have one at all – it’s time for you to travel to Norway. True, another condition is not to be afraid of getting infected with this virus, because it is still rampant there, only the public pays less attention to it. Or not even appealing at all.
I was genuinely surprised by what I saw when I arrived in Bergen, Norway’s second largest city. I experienced a slight shock. I felt like I was in a dream. I pinch myself many times, but it turns out it’s not a dream at all, but probably a reality.
© Orijus Gasanovas
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Just arrive in Norway – may forget that the whole world is still experiencing the difficulties of a coronavirus pandemic, that many places still have strict restrictions and regulations. There is nothing like it, here the freedom that the whole planet desires.
When the plane lands at any Norwegian airport, passengers can take off their face masks in the same second, as they Scandinavian are not mandatory in any place in the country.
You will not need masks when going to the store, at the airport, or in a taxi car. They are only recommended, but as the Norwegians explained to me, less than 10 percent of the country’s population, mostly older seniors, listen to those recommendations. Everyone else enjoys the right to an open mouth and nose. In other words, he got what he wanted for a long time.
Half less than in Lithuania, only 216 thousand infections COVID-19 in the virus-fixing country, a number of claims were also in place until the autumn, but at the end of September everything was lifted. The government of this country has decided that it will be enough to intervene and regulate. Gave the people to choose. And as the Norwegians told me to speak, on the same day as they remember it was September 25, there were no more masks on the streets and in the offices, melting like the heat of summer, in the breezy winds of Norway.
Now, if someone pulls out the mask, they may even get a note from other people. “You no longer need it, you can take it off and feel free,” the employee of the grocery store “Rema 1000” immediately informed the author of these lines, who was wearing a mask. I didn’t get upset, so later I got another note from another person. “We only wear masks to those who suspect they may be ill,” said a friend who had been living in Norway for many years and had accompanied me to the store.
Although it should be noted that there are still warnings left in the mall to keep buyers at a safe distance. But no one pays attention to these, and there are no ushers supervising buyers. As you can probably understand, no vaccination document is required when entering the store. They did not have, do not have and have no plans for something like our opportunity passport.
To put it mildly: for Norwegians, who got the vaccine and who didn’t. And they are not angry with each other that there is no division of people at the state level. Who wanted to be vaccinated, who did not want – does not. They do not attack and avoid each other. Interestingly, about 70 percent of Norway, which has a population of almost five and a half million, is currently vaccinated.
What surprised me the most: in the Viking country, everyone repeats, as agreed, that the coronavirus is over. That’s what the receptionist of the hotel where I stayed told me. After that, I repeated several Lithuanian women I met walking around Bergen: “everything, the crown is over”. And another similar expression was expressed by the waitress at the seafood restaurant when I asked if the staff didn’t need to wear masks either. “Optional because the virus is over,” she replied.
I don’t know on what basis people describe the current situation in this way, but the statistics show something completely different. In Norway, the coronavirus is far from over and continues to spread successfully. Here are more than 9,000 new cases this week, about 1,200 infections a day. This number is a growing, obvious trend for the virus to start showing its horns again. But because of that, no one panics too much.
By the way, it is interesting that the country’s media is rapidly reducing the amount of news about the virus. Whereas in the past infections were reported on a daily basis, statistics are now published once a week, covering all seven days at once.
© Orijus Gasanovas
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I remember when, after the first quarantine, in which the whole world was sitting, planes returned to the sky – it was being considered whether we would always fly only with protective masks from now on. Many have said that this has been the case for at least the next decade and have called it the new reality of aviation. Hearing such a prediction, many drew a tear of sadness.
And now, after visiting Norway, I will tell you that what all the experts predicted has not come true. It didn’t take long, a year passed and everything – when flying within Norway, masks have already been removed on domestic flights. They are not prohibited, but are not required. And that means that out of a group of passengers, only a few people put on a mask.
On my trip from Bergen to Trondheim, about 40-50 people flew in, four masks, including me, wore masks. To put it mildly, I no longer understand what to follow, what to believe, and how to be right. But I thought the extra protection would never hurt. Guess if the stewardess didn’t come? Of course he came and kindly informed me that if I wanted to, I could fly with my face exposed.
Passengers flying on international flights can also walk behind the Norwegian airport uncovered, masks become mandatory only before boarding the plane, for example, flying back to Lithuania. Most do so, walking around the terminal without any protection. Picture like in 2019, before you even know who that nasty Covid-19 is.
If you are already tempted to travel to Norway, famous for its beautiful fjords, which is now freer than anywhere else in the world – you must know that when you fly in or come here, you still need to have certain documents. All arriving travelers must have either a vaccination document or a negative coronavirus test result. He can be asked before leaving the airport area.
Of the passengers who flew with me from a large squad, about half were inspected by customs. Everyone else was able to go their own way with direct application.
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