Corona-information in foreign languages

National Press Conference & releases

• Press Conference - 8. september
• Press Release - 3. september - Travel and combining vaccines

Information regarding quarantine hotels

• The coronavirus situation: Information regarding quarantine hotels - regjeringen.no

Corona information in other languages

• Helse Norge - Informasjon på flere språk

• Sanitetskvinnene - Film og informasjon på flere språk

• Folkehelseinstituttet - Informasjon og film på flere språk

• Integrering- og mangfoldsdirektoratet

Vaccines

• Here you can find national information about Coronavirus immunisation programme

Social distancing to prevent transmission

Increasing the physical distance between people is intended to limit and delay the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 disease is transmitted mainly by droplet and contact transmission. The more likely it is that you are contagious, the greater the distance you should keep to other people. 

On 5 November, the Government recommended that everyone in the coming weeks must stay at home and limit social contact with other people as much as possible. This also means that in private homes, gardens or cabins, there should not be more than five guests in addition to household members.

If all the guests are from the same household, there can be more people. Two families can meet even if they have many children.

The restriction of not being more than five guests does not apply to childcare centre or primary school cohorts.

Adolescents and adults who have been with friends/ other situations where there has not been a metre distance should keep a distance of two metres from people in risk groups.

Advice for everyone

• Follow good cough etiquette and good hand hygiene.
• You and your closest circle can be together as normal. Your closest circle includes those you live with and boy/girlfriends. People who live alone can also have two-three close contacts who they can be physically close to. They should be the same people over time.
• Keep 1 metre distance from others than your closest circle. Distance between faces is most important. If you stand back-to-back, or behind someone in a queue, there is less risk of transmission. If you are sitting next to each other there should be a metre from shoulder to shoulder. Avoid physical contact, including shaking hands and hugging.
• If you have respiratory tract symptoms you should stay at home and you should be tested. 
• If the test result is negative, you can go back to work, school or childcare centre when you are in good general condition, even though you still may have residual symptoms.

Waiting for test results

You have been tested because you have symptoms, and are not in quarantine

The main rule is that you shall stay at home until you receive your test results. You shall not go to work or school, you shall not use public transport or visit public places, and you shall keep a safe distance from other people than your closest contact circle. Your household members do not need to be in quarantine, nor do household members who work in the healthcare service.

With a negative test you can return to work/ school when you are in good general condition (you feel well and have no fever), even though you still may residual symptoms after the respiratory tract infection.

You have been tested because you have symptoms, and are in quarantine

If you experience typical symptoms of COVID-19 (acute respiratory tract infection with fever, cough, wheezing or loss of sense of smell or taste) while in quarantine, you are considered to have probable COVID-19 while you are waiting for test results. You must be in isolation while waiting for test results. It is also recommended that your household members be quarantined until it is clarified that you do not have COVID-19. If the test result is negative, the quarantine continues as planned.

You have been tested and you have no symptoms and have not been exposed to infection

If the test is taken without suspicion of COVID-19 (i.e. you have no symptoms, have not been to a country with high incidence or have not been directly exposed) it is not necessary to stay at home while waiting for a test result. 

See also:

• When you suspect that you have COVID-19 disease
• Definitions
• Hand hygiene, cough etiquette, cleaning and laundry
• Face mask use in the general public
• Advice for pregnant and breastfeeding women
• Advice for children and adolescents
• Advice for risk groups 
• Brochures and videos with general information about coronavirus in other languages 

Advice for people in quarantine

People who are in quarantine are basically well but have been in a situation where they may have been infected. This applies to close contacts of people with COVID-19 or because you have been travelling to an area with widespread transmission during the last 10 days. Regardless of the reason, quarantine lasts for 10 days. Quarantine shall prevent further transmission. 

• Definitions

For close contacts and people in quarantine after travelling, the following apply: 

• You are in quarantine for 10 days after the last exposure, or after arriving in Norway. Read more about appropriate places for quarantine below.

• You can be in normal contact with children you live with, but keep a distance (over 1 metre) to other adults and avoid visits. 

• Do not go to work, school, childcare centre or other activity outside the home.

• Do not take long trips in Norway.

• Do not use public transport.

• Avoid places where it is difficult to maintain a distance from other people.

• As a rule, you should not visit public places like shops and cafes. If there is no alternative, you may go out to carry out a necessary errand to the supermarket or pharmacy, but ensure that you keep a distance (at least 1 metre) from other people and avoid queues.

• You can go for a walk, but keep a distance of at least 1 metre from others.

• Be alert for any symptoms. If you develop an acute respiratory tract infection with fever, cough, breathing difficulties or loss of sense of taste or smell while you are in quarantine, you are considered to have probable COVID-19. You should be tested as soon as possible and isolate yourself at home until the test results become available. If you have other household members, it is recommended that they are in quarantine until the test result is available. 

• If you get a positive test result, isolation continues and full contact tracing will begin. With a negative test result, quarantine continues as planned, but quarantine ends for household members.  

When in quarantine you must stay in a suitable place:

• The most common place to be in quarantine is at home. It should be possible to avoid contact with other adults in the household.

• In order for a place of residence other than the home to be suitable, it must be possible to avoid contact with others than those you usually live with.
• Student housing / halls of residence /shared houses can be suitable as a place to stay if this is the person's own home. Try to keep a distance to others and use common areas as little as possible. The Municipal Medical Officer can assess the suitability of the residence when the person is defined as a close contact.

• Overnight accommodation where you need to interact with other guests is not suitable for quarantine. Staying in a motorhome, caravan, tent or cabin on campsites without private bathroom/toilet and kitchen facilities is not acceptable for quarantine if you have to share these facilities with people other than your close contacts/travel companions. The same applies to staying at addresses where you have to share rooms/facilities with others than those you usually live with, such as halls of residence and other homes with shared bathrooms or kitchens.

• Barracks may be suitable as a place to stay, provided that you have a private room with your own bathroom / toilet / kitchen, or have organised food delivery.

• Quarantine in other people's homes is OK if you can avoid close contact with other adults in the household

You have COVID-19 and are in home isolation

People with probable or confirmed COVID-19 must be isolated at home, in a healthcare institution or elsewhere. Home isolation applies for people with probable or confirmed COVID-19 but who do not need to be admitted to hospital.  

These apply for people in isolation: 

• Do not leave your home, although you can go into your own garden or your own balcony.
• Arrange help from others to perform necessary errands.
• Keep at least 1 metre distance between you and the people you live with, if possible.
• When you are nearer to other household members than 2 metres, it is recommended that you use a face mask if your health allows it. Alternatively, household members should use face masks when they are closer to the patient than 2 metres. Children under 12-13 years of age are not recommended to wear a face mask. For children under 2 years of age, the use of face masks is not recommended.
• If possible, use a separate room and bathroom. Use your own towel and toiletries.
• Agree with your doctor how you should monitor your condition.
• Ring the healthcare service if you need medical attention because your condition has deteriorated (for example, you get breathing difficulties) or other reasons. Explain that you have COVID-19 when you ring so they can then arrange measures to prevent others from being infected. Do not use public transport.
• Clean your home frequently. Clean surfaces such as bathroom sinks, toilets, door handles and kitchen worktops. Ordinary cleaning products are sufficient. Place used textiles and bedding directly in the washing machine and wash at a minimum of 60 ⁰C.
• The people you live with shall be in quarantine.
• The people you live with must be careful about hand hygiene with frequent hand washing with soap and water. Remember to wash or disinfect your hands when you leave the room where the isolated person is staying and after being in contact with the isolated person or equipment they have used, and before leaving the house.
• Your doctor will assess how long you need to be isolated.