Norwegians should avoid all travel abroad, even to countries with few Covid-19 cases, Health Minister Bent Hoie said on Friday. “There is still little contamination in Norway but we see increased contamination in countries that used to have control over their situations,” Bent Hoie told reporters in Oslo.
While not a member of the European Union, Norway belongs to the passport-free Schengen travel area. It had some of the strictest travel restrictions in Europe in the early phase of the pandemic before gradually lifting them from June.
In another move, bars and restaurants may no longer serve alcohol after midnight, Hoie said. Authorities would also issue fresh recommendations on wearing face masks on August 14, Reuters reports. Norway and other Nordic countries, unlike many other European nations, are not currently mandating masks in public spaces.