The Norwegian government has moved Saudi Arabia and Ukraine from the gray to the purple list of countries; Thus, the ban on travel to both countries will be lifted.
According to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the new changes will take effect on Monday, August 2, and were adopted after assessing the epidemiological situation based on data provided by the National Institutes of Health, according to SchengenVisaInfo.com.
The following countries and territories of the European Union are currently on the purple list: Albania, Azerbaijan, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Kosovo, Moldova, New Zealand, Northern Macedonia, Qatar, Serbia, Singapore and Taiwan.
“The United States, Israel, Japan, Montenegro and South Korea are also excluded from the Travel Council, although these countries no longer meet the FHI’s requirements for purple countries,” the statement said.
The same ministry stressed that arrivals from purple, which includes third countries, are subject to the same measures as arrivals from countries and territories within the European Economic Area, the Schengen area and the United Kingdom, which are classified as red; therefore, they are required to follow the rules of testing and quarantine upon entry.
The coronavirus outbreak forced the authorities to continue preventive measures to stop the further spread of the virus; however, on 26 July, more people were allowed to travel to Norway, including children traveling with parents who have a European COVID-19 vaccination certificate and family members of Norwegian citizens.
Earlier, the Norwegian authorities lifted the ban on travel to Albania, Canada, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Kosovo, Montenegro, Moldova, Qatar and Serbia after assessing the situation with COVID-19 in these areas.
However, due to the rapid spread of the virus and its new strains, the Norwegian government has postponed the easing of restrictions on COVID-19, which is part of the country’s four-step strategy to overcome the virus-induced crisis.
This decision was confirmed by Health Minister Bent Hoy, emphasizing that the final stage was postponed until mid-August.
According to data published by the World Health Organization, 137,127 patients with COVID-19 have been registered in the Scandinavian country.
The same source confirms that a total of 799 people have died from the virus in Norway. The data released showed that in the last 24 hours, Norway reported 405 new cases of the disease due to COVID-19.