Norwegians in Gran Canaria are now organizing themselves in opposition to the new quarantine rules.
Some have been in contact with a lawyer and several TV 2 have spoken to say they will refuse to follow orders to spend the foreign quarantine in hotels.
– That we will be housed together with lots of people who come from all over the world, who we know may be infected. It is out of the question, says Petter Bostrøm Hansen (75) to TV 2.
– Goes home to a prison
In the next few days, many Norwegian pensioners who have spent the winter in Spain will return home.
Not because they absolutely want to, but because they have expired travel insurance, medical appointments or other important appointments.
Steinar Eriksen (74) must travel on Saturday due to NAV’s regulations for stays abroad. He has dreaded this for a long time.
– HORRIBLE: Steinar Eriksen has been in Gran Canaria since October due to rheumatism. He thinks the new quarantine requirements are too square. Photo: Aage Aune / TV 2
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– Bent Høie has said that it would be nice if everyone stayed away from hotels at Easter. Then he forcibly sends all of us retirees to a hotel at Easter. I do not think it is connected. I feel we are going home to a prison, he says to TV 2.
Eriksen has been to Gran Canaria during the winter months due to rheumatism.
When he lands at Gardermoen on Saturday night, he must, according to the rules, spend three days in a hotel, and then be tested.
Only when the answer comes, can he and his wife Sigridur go home.
– We do not really know when we will get home, he says resignedly.
– Rather goes in smooth cell
The mandatory hotel quarantine, which from Monday is extended from three to seven days, is the major topic of conversation among the around 2,000 Norwegians who are now in Gran Canaria.
Opinions and plans are exchanged on Facebook and around café tables in the idyllic fishing village of Arguineguin.
Several have flagged that they do not intend to accept the authorities’ order, that they will travel home to themselves to be quarantined, and that they would rather take the punishment that comes.
According to a circular which the Ministry of Justice has sent to the Police, coercion shall not be used against travelers who refuse to go to a hotel. But at the same time it is said that violations of the infection control rules can be punished with fines or imprisonment for up to six months.
Petter Bostrøm Hansen is ready to take those consequences. He would rather be in prison than in a quarantine hotel.
– We have a very clear policy on that. We are in no doubt. I do not think they are throwing me in jail, but if they choose, I would rather go to solitary confinement. There may be a little better food. But my wife is not going to that hotel. It’s that simple, he says to TV 2.
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