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When you are a close contact - archived

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Here you will find information and advice to close contacts and those who are in quarantine.

Here you will find information and advice to close contacts and those who are in quarantine.

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This information is now archived - current advice can be found here: 

 

Advice for close contacts

If you are defined as a close contact, you are basically healthy, but have been in a situation where you have been in enough close contact with a person with COVID-19 that you may have been infected.

A distinction is made between close contacts who are household members or are equivalently close to the person who is infected, such as a romantic partner or best friend, and other close contacts. Those who receive a positive test result should notify their close contacts.

Advice for household members or equivalently close 

  • Children of lower secondary school age and under (1st-10th grade) are only recommended to be tested if they have symptoms, even when there is ongoing infection in their household. 
  • You are recommended to be tested every day for 5 days from the last close contact with the last person infected in the household. If more people in the household become infected, 9 days are counted from when the last person became ill.
  • In addition to daily testing, it is recommended that you wear a face mask indoors in public places and that you avoid large gatherings and events for 10 days after close contact. The recommendation for face masks does not apply to children under 12 years of age, school children over 12 years of age when they are at school and those who for medical and other reasons cannot use face masks.
  • If you develop symptoms, stay home and get tested.
  • The tests can be self-tests, or rapid antigen tests or PCR tests taken by healthcare professionals.
  • The test period is counted from the onset of symptoms in the infected person, or from the test date if the person who is infected has no symptoms.
  • If you have had COVID-19 disease in the last 3 months, you should only be tested if you develop new symptoms. It is then recommended that you use self-testing.
  • No force or medication should be used to perform testing.
  • Children under the age of 16 should not be tested if it is disproportionately demanding to test them. 
  • If you test positive, you must be in isolation - see When you are in isolation You no longer need to take a confirmatory test at a test centre if you have had your third vaccine dose (booster dose), or have had two doses followed by having COVID-19 within the last three months. In order to help the municipality and health authorities monitor the infection situation, it is recommended that people who test positive with self-testing register their results in their municipal contact tracing system. Test results that are registered in the municipality's system are not sent to helsenorge.no, and will thus not be shown in the COVID-19 certificate.
  •  

Advice for other close contacts 

The same advice applies to the general population.

  • You are considered an "other close contact" if you have been in contact with the infected person from two days before they had symptoms or from the time of testing if the infected person has no symptoms. Contact refers to being closer than 2 metres for more than 15 minutes.
  • You are recommended to be tested if you have symptoms.
  • If you take a self-test that turns out to be positive see When you are in isolation
  • The tests can be self-tests, rapid antigen tests or PCR tests taken by healthcare professionals.
  • If you have had COVID-19 in the last 3 months or are part of a regular testing programme, you should only test yourself if you have symptoms. It is recommended to use self-tests.
  • You no longer need to take a confirmatory test at the test centre if you have taken a third vaccine dose (booster dose), or have had two dose of coronavirus vaccine followed by COVID-19 in the last 3 months. In order to help the municipality and health authorities monitor the infection situation, it is recommended that people who test positive with self-testing register their results in their municipal contact tracing system. Test results that are registered in the municipality's system are not sent to helsenorge.no, and will thus not be shown in the COVID-19 certificate.
  • Parents decide whether children should be tested.
  • Children under the age of 16 should not be tested if it is disproportionately demanding to test them.
  • Testing should not be forced and medication should not be used. 

For further advice about children and adolescents, see: 

 

 

See also: 

History

12.02.2022: Archived

04.02.2022: Clarification about advice to other close contacts/rest of population

02.02.2022: Updates after regulation changes 01.02.2022 about follow up of close contacts.

27.01.2022: Update according to changes in COVID-19 Regulations 26 January 2022; entry quarantine lifted.

26.01.2022: Updated in accordance with regulatory changes 26.01.22; daily testing regime may replace infection quarantine for close contacts

24.01.2022: Update following changed advice from 24.01.22 about who is recommended confirmatory PCR tests for positive rapid antigen tests, and information about self-registration of positive self-test.

21.01.2022: Clarifying quarantine rules for when the infected person shows no symptoms. Clarifying paragraph about testing for household members who's exempt from quarantine after booster dose.

15.01.2022: 14.01.2022: Updated in accordance with regulatory changes 14.01.22

30.12.2021: Changes to text in accordance with regulatory amendments (Chapter 2, sections 4i and 6e) on 27 December 2021 which enter into force on 1 January 2022

22.12.2021: Changed type of test that can be used to be tested out of quarantine after changes to covid-19 regulation 21.12.21.

21.12.2021: Clarification of quarantine length for household members. New title of article

16.12.2021: New section "When you are in infection quarantine"

15.12.2021: Updated after changes in the regulations 14.12.2021

09.12.2021: Updated with information about omicron.

01.12.2021: The original page "Close contacts and isolation" is divided into two chapters called "Close contacts and infection quarantine" and "To you who are in isolation". Change according to quarantine requirements, test requirements.

25.11.2021: Added link to advice to for household members or equivalent close contacts.

23.11.2021: Updated as per Norwegian version - partially vaccinated and unvaccinated to follow same recommendations.

16.11.2021: If you test positive, you must be in isolation and take a confirmatory PCR test at a test station. 

12.11.2021: Updated after new testing recommendations in TISK (test, isolate, contact tracing, quarantine)

14.10.2021: Added flow chart. No other changes.

25.09.2021: Revised in accordance with new advice on adjusted TISK and normal daily life. Advice for close contacts added. Advice about quarantine removed.

08.09.2021: Clarification about care of children in isolation

30.08.2021: Updated according to extended exemption from quarantine after being defined as close contact, for those who have recovered from covid-19 within the last 12 months.

17.08.2021: Added that NHS COVID Pass from England or Wales is considered to be valid documentation of vaccination/ having had the disease.

01.07.2021: Updated text in accordance with a change in the COVID-19 regulations that the waiting quarantine scheme will be removed from 1 July.

24.06.2021: Change made to refer to EU COVID-19 certificate

23.06.2021: Added that the Swedish COVID-19 certificate is not yet ready for this use

21.06.2021: added that Swedish and Danish COVID-19 certificates are approved documentation of vaccination and having COVID-19, Minor language changes.

17.06.2021: Updated documentation requirements according to COVID-19 regulations appendix D

11.06.2021: From 11.6, fully vaccinated and people who have had covid-19 in the last 6 months will not be in quarantine. Updated information on exemptions from quarantine according to this.

07.06.2021: From 4.6, those who are protected against COVID-19 and children under the age of 12 can shorten the quarantine after a negative test after 3 days.

03.06.2021: Added advice to those who are protected in private homes, added changes in who needs to quarantine hotels, Some minor adjustments to language.

18.05.2021: Corrected sentence about quarantine hotels : This also applies to residents in Norway.

13.05.2021: Added to the EEA and Schengen area or the United Kingdom, cf. Amendments to the COVID-19 regulation from 13.5.

12.05.2021: Added that people who have been outside the EEA and Schengen area for the last 10 days cannot use public transport to the quarantine hotel, cf. the changes in section 5 of the covid-19 regulations which came into force on 9.5.21.

04.05.2021: Clarification about vaccinated people and infection quarantine

04.05.2021: Updated according to regulatory change; easing of quarantine for vaccinated (fully vaccinated are exempt and those who have only had one dose can be exempt provided they are tested.

30.04.2021: Added that everyone in the entry quarantine must be tested 7 days after arrival and that arrivals from some countries can not use public transport from the place of arrival to the quarantine hotel, cf. regulatory change

30.03.2021: Waiting quarantine is now in the regulations

25.03.2021: New version of How much social distancing poster.

14.01.2022: Updated in accordance with regulatory changes 14.01.22

10.01.2022: Updated according to the regulatory changes 01.01.22.

05.03.2021: Updated illustration: How much to social distance. If you go for a walk, maintain a distance of at least 2 meters from others.

23.02.2021: Requirement for test day 7 if you do not stay in a quarantine hotel. Change in the use of quarantine hotels and exemptions to quarantine.

09.02.2021: Updated link to the english version of the quarantine check.

04.02.2021: Added text about help for people without legal residence.

29.01.2021: Updated to reflect changes to the COVID-19 Regulation section 4c, shortened quarantine by PCR-testing.

28.01.2021: Text changed according to changes in the covid-19 regulation §4c.

26.01.2021: Updated text throughout the entire chapter.

06.01.2021: Clarified that Student Association housing is probably not suitable as a place of quarantine.

02.01.2021: Updated with information about mandatory testing from 2nd January, and consequences for quarantine. 

31.12.2020: Added a paragraph that people who come to Norway from abroad can go out of quarantine after day seven at the earliest if they test negative for COVID-19 twice after arrival. And that everyone who comes from UK must be in quarantine for 10 days.

28.12.2020: Added "The Government is introducing new quarantine rules that will contribute to more travellers being tested, and strengthen compliance with the quarantine rules. This applies from 29 December at 08.00

23.12.2020: Under the section "Advice for people in quarantine": the sentence "From 21 December, people who have been in the UK for the last two weeks are required to be tested on arrival and after 7 days. In the event of a positive test, their close contacts should be tested immediately. If whole genome sequencing shows that the index has a new variant of SARS-CoV2, the close contacts should be retested on day 7. " Added sections about quarantine hotels and infection control advice for places of quarantine where many people live together.

18.12.2020: Updated house picture - sentence about getting help for errands and use face mask, added pictograms

15.12.2020: Emphasised that home isolation means total distance from others if possible.

10.12.2020: Added link to cleaning article

01.12.2020: Content about social distance moved to a separate article. Restructured remaining content.

14.11.2020: Changed sentence in section about isolation: Children under 2 years of age should not use face masks under any circumstance.

11.11.2020: Added sentence about anyone who has been exposed to infection shall be tested. Removed point about being in quarantine in someone's home, according to updates about quarantine hotel.

06.11.2020: Added section about recommendations from government 05.11. Added section about adapted accommodation

04.11.2020: Updated sentence about definition of closest circle

02.11.2020: "Probable COVID-19" cases required to be in isolation in line with changes in the COVID-19 regulations, and household members are recommended to be in quarantine pending test results. "Suitable place for quarantine" has been revised, and it is recommended to keep your distance from other adults in the household. It is recommended that all close contacts be tested. Updated figure.

28.10.2020: Article is updated with link to news article about changes in exemptions from quarantine duty § 6 c for foreign employees that apply from 31 October (announced at press conference on 26 Oct). In paragraph about isolation, changed advice about distance to those you live with from one to two metres.

05.10.2020: Added sentence about using face masks during isolation.

25.09.2020: Updates to section about public transport.

22.09.2020: clarified sentence - even though they still have a few symptoms after the respiratory tract infection. Added "For example, this may apply if you are travelling to a country that requires a test, shall visit an institution that requires a test or are taking part in research projects." 

19.09.2020: Removed sentence about not being allowed to travel abroad.

15.09.2020: Added changes about exemptions from COVID-19 regulations according to changes in COVID-19 regulations

14.09.2020: Removed comment from 13.8.2020 that there is no longer a distinction between close contacts and other contacts. Changed paragraph about entry quarantine. 

04.09.2020: Added: "With a negative test you can return to work/ school when you are in good general condition (you feel well and have no fever), even though you still may have symptoms of respiratory tract infection."

31.08.2020: Added section about waiting for test results.

28.08.2020: Changed bullet point under advice for everyone that you should stay at home until you have a negative test result and your general condition is good.

24.08.2020: Changed sentence in isolation section "Your doctor will assess how long you need to be isolated. You need to be isolated for at least 8 days after you become ill."

21.08.2020 Added sentence "Isolation ends also in the cases where other people in the household are in isolation or quarantine"

18.08.2020 Added updated figure for "how much social distance?"

13.08.2020 Changed text because there is no longer a distinction between household members and other close contacts. Figure will be replaced as soon as possible.

10.08.2020 Added sentence about use of face masks on journey home in section about Quarantine upon arrival in Norway.

31.07.2020: In the section on entry quarantine: Information on travel to the final place of residence was added.

23.07.2020 The section on suitable places for quarantine has been edited with a sentence stating that quarantine can also be carried out in other people's homes.

21.07.2020 Added a new bullet point about place of quarantine where it is specified that a suitable residence for quarantine means that you do not share toilet/kitchen facilities and other common areas with others than your close contacts. 

08.07.2020 Updated "How much social distance?" figure

04.07.2020: Updated bullet points. Under "For everyone" removed "A negative test does not shorten the time in quarantine or follow up." Under "for other close contacts" added "You should be tested twice, preferably on day 3 and 7 after exposure" and "You must be in quarantine in your leisure time until the second test is negative" and "You should inform your employer so the advice for infection control measures can be followed"

24.06.2020: Changed last two bullet points under "advice for everyone" about staying home until you are symptom-free and that if you have symptoms, you should stay at home until there is a negative test result and you are symptom-free.

22.06.2020: Emphasised that 10 day quarantine also applies to people in quarantine after arrival in Norway. People in quarantine after arrival shall follow the same advice as household members and equivalent contacts. 

17.06.2020:

Added "If you are sitting next to someone there should be 1 metre from shoulder to shoulder" to the "Advice to everyone" section.

12.06.2020:
Added "From 15th June, it will no longer be a requirement for 10 days quarantine upon arrival in Norway after travel to regions in the Nordic countries with low incidence" under the paragraph about Quarantine upon arrival in Norway.

04.06.2020:
Added text about what "your closest circle" means and about keeping distance under section about "advice to all". 

03.06.2020:
Updated text as per Norwegian version, new advice and rules for different groups of close contacts. Figure will be updated as soon as possible.

29.05.2020:
Added links to Government website about impending changes to quarantine and travelling to Denmark.

08.05.2020:
Changed quarantine days from 14 to 10 days, according to decision from Norwegian government 07.05.2020. Changed recommended distance to at least one metre.

05.05.2020:

"As a rule, home quarantine shall last for 14 days after the last contact with a patient with confirmed COVID-19" shortened to "As a rule, home quarantine shall last for 14 days"

17.03.2020

Changed last point under isolation to "Isolation lasts until 3 days after you have recovered and at least 8 days after you became ill."