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<\/p>\nby RTM Staff
\nResist the Mainstream<\/p>\n
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Norway\u00a0will end all\u00a0COVID-19-related restrictions starting Saturday, Sept. 25, the government announced, joining a growing list of countries and states that have removed pandemic curbs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is 561 days since we introduced the toughest measures in Norway in peacetime \u2026 Now the time has come to return to a normal daily life,\u201d Prime Minister Erna Solberg told a news conference on Friday.<\/p>\n
The virus can now be considered as\u00a0one of several respiratory illnesses with seasonal variation, said\u00a0Geir Bukholm, the assistant director for the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, according to\u00a0local media. In Norway, COVID-19 has been classified as a generally dangerous disease, but the official classification could change soon, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are now in a new phase where we must look at the coronavirus as one of several respiratory diseases with seasonal variation,\u201d Bukholm told news outlet\u00a0VG,\u00a0referring to the\u00a0CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is because the vast majority of those at risk are protected,\u201d Bukholm said, referring to the country\u2019s vaccination campaign.<\/p>\n
Norway will no longer require businesses to implement social distancing measures, and it will also allow sports and cultural venues as well as restaurants to use their full capacity, the prime minister\u2019s office said. Nightclubs can also reopen under the new guidelines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have lived a long time with strict measures at the borders. This has been important in combating imported infections. When we now move on to a normal everyday life, the government proposes a gradual reduction of the restrictions on entry into the country. This will take place under close supervision,\u201d Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Monica M\u00e6land said in a\u00a0statement\u00a0on the government\u2019s website, according to a translation.<\/p>\n
The country will also allow restriction-free travel from some countries, namely from European nations, so-called \u201cpurple list countries,\u201d and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
Solberg had so far implemented the first three stages of a four-step plan to remove social and economic restrictions imposed since March of last year, but the final step was postponed several times amid worries over infection rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn short, we can now live as normal,\u201d Solberg said.<\/p>\n
The prime minister warned, however, that those who do contract COVID-19 must still go into isolation to avoid spreading the virus.\u00a0Some restrictions will still apply to those arriving from countries considered to have a high rate of infections, the government said.<\/p>\n
This is an excerpt from The Epoch Times.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n