Norway announced on Saturday that it will close its ports and airports and tighten its land border controls starting Monday, due to the Covid-19 epidemic, although exemptions will be made for Norwegians returning from abroad as well as for goods.
“We’ve decided to shut our airports, close our ports and implement extensive controls along our border. We are doing this with the aim of protecting ourselves from the epidemic,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg at a press conference.
“This implies in practice that no one can enter Norway, that is to say that we can show people back when they arrive at the border unless they have a very specific reason for coming here“, she said.
The measure will be effective as of Monday at 08:00.
The border will not be “tightly closed,” said Solberg, arguing that the country still needs medicines and food from abroad and that Norwegians will still be able to return to their country. The government is negotiating with Norwegian Air and SAS to bring nationals home.
