Advice to everyone in the population

• Remember good hand hygiene and cough etiquette.  
• Keep at least 1 metre away from anyone other than those you live with. Avoid physical contact, including handshakes and hugging. If you are protected, you can have close contact with others in private homes, but still keep your distance from the unprotected in risk groups. See further description in the chapter:
  After you have been vaccinated or have had COVID-19
• If you develop symptoms of a respiratory infection, you must stay at home and you should take a test.
• When you suspect that you have COVID-19 disease

How much social distance?

The figure summarises the advice concerning the various forms of social distancing (updated 03.05.2021). 

• Download the poster "How much social distance?"(pdf)

Advice for people in quarantine

People who are in quarantine are basically well but have been in a situation where they may have been infected. This applies to close contacts of people with confirmed COVID-19 (infection quarantine) or because you have visited an area with a high infection rate during the last 10 days (entry quarantine).

If you do not have a permanent residence, or a suitable place for quarantine, the municipality you are staying in can help you find such a place. This may apply to people without legal residence in the country / undocumented migrants. 

• More information on testing and health care for people without legal residence in several languages (Helsenorge)

See the description of what it means to be protected and fully vaccinated:

• After you have been vaccinated or have had COVID-19

When you are in quarantine, the following applies: 

• For entry quarantine: You must go into quarantine for 10 days after arriving in Norway. The quarantine period may be shortened if you have a PCR test with a negative result no earlier than 7 days after arrival. 
• For infection quarantine: You must go into quarantine for 10 days after your most recent contact with the person who is infected. If you are staying with someone who receives a positive test result during the quarantine period, you must start a new quarantine period from the last time you had contact. The quarantine period may be shortened if you have a PCR test with a negative result no earlier than 7 days after your most recent contact with the infected person.
• Anyone who is in infection quarantine should be tested, see Test criteria
• You can be in normal contact with younger children you live with, but maintain a distance (more than 1 metre) from older children and other adults.
• If older children in the household are in quarantine, where possible it is recommended to avoid close, or physical contact with other household members.
• For children and people in need of healthcare, however, the need for care must be given the highest priority.
• Avoid visits to the home
• Do not go to work, school, childcare centre or other activities outside the home. 
• Do not take long trips in Norway. 
• Do not use public transport. 
• Avoid places where it is difficult to maintain a distance from other people. 
• As a rule, you should not visit public places like shops. If there is no alternative, you may go out to carry out essential errands to the supermarket or pharmacy, but ensure that you maintain a distance (at least 1 metre) from other people, wear a face mask and avoid queues. 
• You can go for a walk, but maintain a distance of 2 metres from others. 

Be alert for any symptoms. If you develop an acute respiratory tract infection with fever, cough, shortness of breath or loss of sense of taste or smell while in quarantine, you will be considered to have probable COVID-19 disease. You should be tested as soon as possible and go into isolation at home until your test result is available. If you have other household members, it is recommended that they go into quarantine until your test result is available. If you test positive for COVID-19 during your quarantine period, you must continue your home isolation, and the contact tracing team in your district or municipality will carry out full contact tracing. With a negative test result, you must continue your quarantine as planned, but quarantine will end for other household members. 

Exemptions from quarantine

If you are fully vaccinated (see link to description below), you no longer need to be in infection quarantine or entry quarantine. If you have recovered from COVID-19 within the last 6 months you can be exempt from entry quarantine, and if you have recovered from COVID-19 within the past 12 months you can be exempt from infection quarantine.  

If you have received one dose (between three and 15 weeks since you received the dose) you are considered as protected, and also exempt from infection quarantine if you are tested between days 3 and 7 after close contact with an infected person. You do not need to be in quarantine until the test result is available. Please note that if you are protected you are not exempt from entry quarantine, but you can shorten the duration with a negative PCR test taken no earlier than 3 days after your arrival.

Currently, only presentation of a COVID-19 certificate with a QR code which can be verified by the Norwegian authorities is considered a secure and verifiable way to document vaccination or previous illness. Here you will find more information about the COVID-19 certificate and which COVID-19 certificates are accepted:

• Log in to view your COVID-19 certificate (helsenorge.no) 
• List of verifiable and approved COVID-19 certificates (Lovdata – Vedlegg D) (in Norwegian)

Children under the age of 18 years who are not household members, or similar close contacts to someone with COVID-19, can be exempt from infection quarantine if they undergo testing in accordance with guidelines from their municipality.  Children under the age of 18 years can also come out of entry quarantine if they test negative with a PCR test taken no earlier than three days after arrival.

Unsure whether you should go into quarantine? Take the quarantine check (helsedirektoratet.no)

• Information about your COVID-19 test result
• Download the poster "Quarantine"

Suitable locations for quarantine

• The most important requirement for accommodation to be considered suitable for spending quarantine is that you must be able to maintain a safe distance from other adults throughout the entire quarantine period.
• For those with a permanent residence in Norway, it is normal to spend quarantine at home.  If you live withe others but do not have much space, you can get help to find a suitable place. 
• Halls of residence/shared housing can be suitable accommodation if it is possible to keep a distance to other adults and older children. You should use communal areas as little as possible. The Municipal Medical Officer, or the person who contacts you on his or her behalf, can assess the suitability of accommodation for quarantine and arrange an alternative if necessary.
• Student housing made available by the Student Association is probably not suitable as quarantine accommodation. Student housing belonging to Student Associations must be assessed under the exception in Section 5 fourth paragraph (a), which stipulates requirements for private rooms with their own toilet and kitchen, in order for the student to be able to complete their quarantine in student housing.
• Overnight accommodation where you need to interact with other guests is not suitable for quarantine use. Staying in a motorhome, caravan, tent or cabin on campsite without a private bathroom/toilet and kitchen facilities is not acceptable for quarantine if you have to share these facilities with people other than your close contacts/travel companions. The same applies to staying at addresses where you have to share rooms/facilities with people other than those you normally live with, such as halls of residence and other accommodation with a shared bathroom or kitchen. 
• Barracks may be suitable as accommodation, provided that you have a private room with your own bathroom/toilet/kitchen, or you have organised food delivery. See below regarding the organisation of adapted accommodation for quarantine use where many people live together.  

• Home quarantine and home isolation

About quarantine hotels and exemptions 

The general rule is that people arriving in Norway from from countries outside the EEA / Schengen and from regions / countries in the EEA / Schengen area (including the UK) with high infection pressure must stay at a quarantine hotel for all or part of the quarantine period. This also applies to residents in Norway. However, there are some exceptions, see Section 5 of the COVID-19 Regulation.

Those who can document that they are protected against COVID-19, or minors who have travelled alone or together with a person who is protected against COVID-19, do not have to be in a quarantine hotel, but can carry out the quarantine at home or at another suitable location.

Read more about the rules and exemptions: 

• Quarantine hotel or quarantine at home? (helsenorge.no)
• The coronavirus situation: Information regarding quarantine hotels (Government.no)
• Karantene (helsedirektoratet.no)

Quarantine hotels must provide play facilities and activities for resident children.

• Quarantine hotels should provide facilities to enable children and adolescents to play and be active (helsedirektoratet.no)

People who come to Norway to perform work or assignments and who can document that the employer makes a pre-approved place of residence available are not obliged to stay in quarantine hotels. 

Conditions for approval from the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority include:

• Possible to avoid close contact with others
• Single occupancy room
• TV and internet in the room
• Own bathroom
• Own kitchen or food service

It is also possible to get an exemption from the requirement to stay in quarantine hotels for those who have arranged contact with their own children or after application to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration for those who can document strong welfare considerations, or other compelling reasons. This applies to both Norwegians and foreigners.

See also:

• Questions and answers about entry to Norway (government.no)

Advice if you are in quarantine and need to use public transport

If you are in quarantine, you should normally avoid using public transport, and must never use it if you have COVID-19 symptoms.  

If you have been placed in entry quarantine, you may still use public transport to reach your quarantine accommodation within or outside Norway. If you are going to stay in a quarantine hotel, you cannot use public transport from the place of arrival to the quarantine hotel.

If you are in infection quarantine, you can only make such a journey following a specific assessment by the Municipal Medical Officer. The Municipal Medical Officer will consider the degree of exposure and any test results when making their assessment. Household members without a negative test result will not normally be given permission. 

For these journeys, the following apply: 

• Take the quickest route. 
• Face masks must be worn during the entire journey in these cases, except for children under 12 years. Wear the recommended type of face mask and follow the advice concerning correct use.
• Be particularly careful about maintaining good hand hygiene and cough etiquette. 
• Try to avoid departures where it is not possible to keep at least one metre distance. Use pre-booked/registered seats where possible.
• If you must stay overnight on the way, use pre-booked accommodation in accordance with the requirements and recommendations applying to quarantine.

• Entry quarantine upon arrival in Norway

Exemption from quarantine duty

Exemption from the quarantine obligation can be granted under certain circumstances. Read more here: 

• General about exemptions from quarantine
• Rules about quarantine and exemptions from the quarantine obligation upon arrival in Norway (hdir.no) 
• Travel quarantine - FAQs (regjeringen.no)

There are specific recommendations for the follow-up and testing of people who are granted exemption from the quarantine obligation. 

You have COVID-19 and are in home isolation

People with probable or confirmed COVID-19 must go into isolation at home, at a healthcare institution or elsewhere. Home isolation applies to people with probable or confirmed COVID-19 but who do not need to be admitted to hospital. 

It is important that children and adolescents receive the care they need, even if this means that distance cannot be kept. This applies regardless of whether it is the child or guardian who is in isolation.

If you do not have a permanent place to live, or the place you live in is not suitable for isolation, the municipality you are staying in will help you find such a place. This also applies to persons without legal residence in the country / undocumented migrants. This is free and you will be given food and drink. You are not allowed to go outside or have visitors when you are in isolation. More information about health care for people without legal residence in the country, see Helsenorge.no: Healthcare for people without legal residence

The following applies for people in isolation:

• Wherever possible, you must maintain a safe distance from others. For children and people who need medical help, the need for care should be given the highest priority.
• If possible, use a separate room and bathroom. Use your own towels and toiletries.
• You should have food delivered to your room or be alone in the kitchen.
• If you live with other people, you should go into isolation in your room and maintain the full social distance from those you live with. Do not leave your home, although you can go into your own garden or onto your own balcony, while maintaining a distance from others.
• Get help from others to perform essential errands.
• You and members of your household cannot have visitors.
• If you have to be nearer to other household members than 2 metres, it is recommended that you wear a face mask if your health permits it. Alternatively, household members should wear a face mask when they are closer than 2 metres to the person who is ill. It is not recommended that children under 12-13 years of age wear a face mask. Children under 2 years of age should not wear a face mask under any circumstances.
• Ask your doctor how you should monitor your health.
• Ring the healthcare service if you need medical attention because your condition has deteriorated (for example, you experience breathing difficulties) or for other reasons. Explain that you have COVID-19 when you call. They will then be able to implement measures to prevent other people from becoming infected. Do not use public transport.
• Clean your home frequently, especially surfaces such as bathroom sinks, toilets, door handles and kitchen worktops. Ordinary cleaning products may be used. Place used linen, etc. and bedding directly in the washing machine and wash at a minimum of 60⁰C. See also: Cleaning during and after home isolation.
• The people you live with must go into quarantine.
• The people you live with must be careful about hand hygiene. It is especially important that the people you live with wash or disinfect their hands when they leave the room you (the person self-isolating) are in, and after coming into contact with you or equipment you have used, and before leaving the house.
• Download the poster "Isolation".

More:

• Regulations relating to infection control measures etc. in connection with the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19 Regulations)
• Home quarantine and home isolation - advice to healthcare personnel 
• Information in other languages: Brochures and videos about home isolation and quarantine 
• When you are sick or suspect that you have COVID-19 disease
• Risk groups and their relatives
• Children and adolescents