Corona, getting to Norway Longyearbyen vaccination and testing
One can follow the almost daily news and press releases on travel and quarantine regulations in Norway with some astonishment. The bottomline is currently that the Norwegian government opens for easier access to the country by easing on quarantine – but only for Norwegians. Exceptions from this simple rule are few at the time being. The policy is currently to enable Norwegian travellers to spend at least some of the quarantine time at a place of their own choice, rather than in a quarantine hotel. Corona vaccinations are currently only recognized if applied in Norway, this may change with the introduction of a digital European vaccination certificate.
Spitsbergen has a record-breaking vaccination rate of more than 80 % of the adult population. Nevertheless, frustration is growing in Longyearbyen about being kind of forgotten while the rest of the country is opening up. Despite of the high vaccination rate, Longyearbyen is Norway’s only town which requires testing before you can trave there. This is not a local decision, local authorities seem to be happy to get rid of this testing regime but it is a decision that needs to be taken in Oslo. The obligation to test before travelling to Longyearbyen also apply to immunised (vaccinated or previously infected) people. A rapid test is available at the airport of Oslo Gardermoen for 1195 kroner (near 120 Euro), while a PCR test with result in 1-5 hours comes for 2500 kroner (near 250 Euro) (prices from a supplier at Oslo Gardermoen). In addition comes the challenge of testing while travelling, which may easily add an extra hotel night to one’s schedule.
Something much better
Barentsburg and the view over Grønfjord. Drawn by Edda Maaß, who celebrated her 18th birthday recently, with kind permission. Congratulations!
But one can also just forget all this misery at least for a short while and enjoy something beautiful, such as this drawing made by Edda Maaß who recently filled 18 years. Many readers will know the place 🙂