Norway is shutting down

[Amarillo]

The entire country of Norway is 'shutting down'

theweek.com

I’ve no idea what’s going to happen to my parents, aunt and uncle, all well into their 80s and currently on the Hurtigruten on a bucket list two week cruise to see the Northern Lights.

 

[B J G]

The entire country of Norway is 'shutting down'

theweek.com

I’ve no idea what’s going to happen to my parents, aunt and uncle, all well into their 80s and currently on the Hurtigruten on a bucket list two week cruise to see the Northern Lights.

Might actually get fed up of seeing the Northern Lights.

 

[Calimili]

@WelshGas is not going to be happy...

 

[WelshGas]

@WelshGas is not going to be happy...

Still 7 weeks to go. We’ll see what transpires.

 

[MattC]

Damn, I'm due out there in a couple of weeks for my annual hut-to-hut ski tour. Doesn't look much like it's going to happen.

That said the measures they've announced currently run to 26th March. I reckon it's highly unlikely that everything will revert to normal there from 27th, but I guess I need the measures to be extended slightly longer and/or the FCO to advise against travel to Norway asap so that my insurance can kick in and cover the cancellation.

They obviously want to prevent foreign travellers coming in, as I can't see any practical way to complete 14 days home quarantine immediately on arrival.

 

[Silverlight]

I’ve no idea what’s going to happen to my parents, aunt and uncle, all well into their 80s and currently on the Hurtigruten on a bucket list two week cruise to see the Northern Lights.
[/QUOTE]

I hope your family manage to stay healthy on their cruise... fingers and toes crossed for them.

 

[Amarillo]

Further detail on the shutdown of Norway.

So long as people have not left the Nordic countries (I'm assuming this to be Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and territorial islands including Greenland) since 27 February will be free to enter Norway. However, anyone who has been outside of the Nordic countries on entering Norway will need to home quarantine themselves for 14 days. Bars and restaurants will close unless they can keep people at least 1m apart, shops and pharmacies will remain open.

Norway Is Closed: PM Extends Emergency Coronavirus Measures

UPDATED 24 MARCH: The Norwegian Prime Minister has announced the extension of the country's emergency measures up to and including Easter. The most drastic set of measures ever seen outside of wartime aim to stop

www.lifeinnorway.net

My parents, aunt and uncle entered Norway on 6 March. I'm unsure if the restriction for quarantine will include those already in Norway, but if it does, they have no means to "home quarantine". Perhaps they will be restricted to the ship - I hope for their sakes it doesn't mean they will be restricted to their room on the ship!

Just found this:

Hurtigruten and Fjord Line exempted​

The blanket ban [on cruise liners disembarking passengers at Bergen, Stavanger] does not apply to Norway’s Hurtigruten coastal ferry nor the Fjord Line ferry service to Denmark, as both services start and end their service in Bergen.​

​

The press release states that passengers for both services will be allowed to embark and disembark in Bergen, but “will have to adhere to the decisions made to limit infection in Bergen.”​

Cruise Ship Passengers Banned From Bergen, Stavanger As Coronavirus Cases Rise In Norway

One of Norway’s busiest cruise ship ports has banned passengers from leaving cruise ships docked in the city with immediate effect.

www.forbes.com

And now this:

Arrivals face quarantine​

In what was the most surprising announcement of the day, the Prime Minister also revealed that anyone arriving in the country from outside the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) will face a mandatory 14-day home quarantine. This applies to anyone arriving in Norway since February 27, a rule that has instantly placed thousands of Norwegians in home quarantine.​

So I expect they are confined to their cabins. There will be Nordic passengers on the ferry with no requirement for quarantine, and they will now need to be kept separate from passengers who have been outside the Nordic countries since 27 February.

Or perhaps they will be removed from the ship and placed in a hotel or even repatriated.

 

[Calimili]

In the quarantined villages in Italy, the infections have decreased from 4% to 0.5% or lower. So everybody, every country is locking itself up...

 

[WelshGas]

In the quarantined villages in Italy, the infections have decreased from 4% to 0.5% or lower. So everybody, every country is locking itself up...

The problem is unless the " herd immunity " levels increase then there will be a 2nd wave of infections. This virus is here to stay and we will all be exposed to it. We just need to slow it down so that we cn cope with the serious cases while the herd immunity levels rise. Remember 80% of those infected have a mild infection.

 

[Jay gas]

I get the herd immunity aspect of this ,so by locking this down and delaying the outbreak for a 2nd wave to arrive could bye time to help develop a vaccine to reduce the impact of the 2nd wave and we have had fewer people affected in the first wave. Or maybe the timescales involved in this don’t match up to allow this to happen

 

[WelshGas]

I get the herd immunity aspect of this ,so by locking this down and delaying the outbreak for a 2nd wave to arrive could bye time to help develop a vaccine to reduce the impact of the 2nd wave and we have had fewer people affected in the first wave. Or maybe the timescales involved in this don’t match up to allow this to happen

No, they don't match up I'm afraid. A vaccination is at least 12 - 18 months away from being certified for general use, and that is quick for a vaccine. Then you will have to produce it in useful amounts for distribution and that depends on how easy/difficult it is.

The western world has concerns, we should also be concerned on the impact on the war torn countries, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan, the refugees and the Sub Saharan and South American countries. Medical facilities for the masses there are woeful compared to the richer countries.

 

[altvic]

I have been working out of Brønnøysund since November (2.5 hour helicopter ride north west into ocean) and was pleased to get off semi—sub yesterday as there were no covid symptoms of 140 crew after two weeks but likelihood of positive test increasing when new folk arrived. Helicopter pilots ha refused to fly out to pickup any victims and rest of us quarantined for further two weeks. This Seipam vessel has Italian crew who are now refused entry; new Norwegian crew could, perhaps give inexperienced safety issues?
Glad I am home to get quarantined.
Just heard that all UK personnel wirking for Norway oil and gas are being sent home. This will stop most exploration, which what I work in.

 

[Amarillo]

The biggest issue appears to be a shortage of intensive care beds. As soon as they run out you need drastic measures to cut the demand for those beds so that those who need treatment are not left to die.

Either that or find some way to create more beds and staff them. I have no idea how long it would take to requisition a health club and convert it into an intensive care centre - but even if that could be done fairly quickly, staffing the centre would be the next problem.

Clare works at the Assisted Conception Unit at Guys. There is talk of temporarily closing the unit and redeploying staff elsewhere in the NHS.

 

[flying banana]

is Sweden open ? i'm off there sunday ? I hope

 

[WelshGas]

The biggest issue appears to be a shortage of intensive care beds. As soon as they run out you need drastic measures to cut the demand for those beds so that those who need treatment are not left to die.

Either that or find some way to create more beds and staff them. I have no idea how long it would take to requisition a health club and convert it into an intensive care centre - but even if that could be done fairly quickly, staffing the centre would be the next problem.

Clare works at the Assisted Conception Unit at Guys. There is talk of temporarily closing the unit and redeploying staff elsewhere in the NHS.

There are a lot more Intensive Care facilities that can be brought online when Elective Surgery stops. Each Operating Theatre has an Anaesthetic Room and normally both are equipped with high level monitoring and anaesthetic machines that virtually do all that an Intensive Care Unit ventilator can do. Also you don’t need a fully trained Intensive Care nurse for every patient but you do need nursing staff. An ICU nurses workload looking after a patient is 50+% general nursing duties, bed baths, bed making, checking fluids, emptying urine bags + lots of other requirements not specifically related to the ICU specifics. So 1 ICU nurse + 2 general nurses or a nurse and auxiliary could look after 2 patients. The nurses would come from the elective surgical ward out patients etc. It is not quite as bad as some are making out.

 

[Amarillo]

There are a lot more Intensive Care facilities that can be brought online when Elective Surgery stops. Each Operating Theatre has an Anaesthetic Room and normally both are equipped with high level monitoring and anaesthetic machines that virtually do all that an Intensive Care Unit ventilator can do. Also you don’t need a fully trained Intensive Care nurse for every patient but you do need nursing staff. An ICU nurses workload looking after a patient is 50+% general nursing duties, bed baths, bed making, checking fluids, emptying urine bags + lots of other requirements not specifically related to the ICU specifics. So 1 ICU nurse + 2 general nurses or a nurse and auxiliary could look after 2 patients. The nurses would come from the elective surgical ward out patients etc. It is not quite as bad as some are making out.

I've seen a figure of 4000 intensive care beds in the UK (of which 4/5 are occupied at any one time). It that figure likely to include Theatre and Anaesthetic room beds, or will those be extra?

 

[WelshGas]

I've seen a figure of 4000 intensive care beds in the UK (of which 4/5 are occupied at any one time). It that figure likely to include Theatre and Anaesthetic room beds, or will those be extra?

No it doesn't. Nor does it include High Dependency beds, Coronary Care Beds or Theatre Recovery Beds, all beds with higher levels of equipment, staff and capability compared with general wards.
BUT, on the Continent and in the States All these bed types are counted as Critical Care or " Intensive Care Beds ". Not so in the UK.

When planning for the H1N1 epidemic at the hospital where I worked we had contingency plans to go from 8 ICU beds to 20 fully ventilated beds and could have gone to 26 at a stretch. Fortunately we only expanded to 12 for about a week.

 

[Lightning]

Denmark, Slovakia and Poland have closed their borders now too. Being in Finland I’m now cut off from the U.K. by road.

 

[flying banana]

well. looks like i'm not going. the bunch of over reacting c#nts

 

[andyinluton]

well. looks like i'm not going. the bunch of over reacting c#nts

Over reacting - try reading the news from other affected countries.

We are currently in the lead up to what looks like the most serious event since WW2 - read some of the bloggs from people trapped in the lockdown in Italy, We will probably be in the same situation in a couple of weeks time.

If the worst that happens to you is a pleasure trip being postponed you will be very lucky.

 

[flying banana]

Over reacting - try reading the news from other affected countries.

We are currently in the lead up to what looks like the most serious event since WW2 - read some of the bloggs from people trapped in the lockdown in Italy, We will probably be in the same situation in a couple of weeks time.

If the worst that happens to you is a pleasure trip being postponed you will be very lucky.

I'd rather be stuck abroad though

 

[DLB]

As of today, you can’t enter Norway unless you can prove where you will self quarantine. Those in Norway can leave but cruise liners can only let passengers off at their final destination. Various other measures are in place onboard - I left on a fjordline ferry last night, they have reduced capacity by 75% to ensure social distancing.
As of lunchtime today no ferries are running between Norway and Denmark until 13 April. I am due back their next weekend and have a home to go to but am not holding my breath on that one!

 

[Amarillo]

As of today, you can’t enter Norway unless you can prove where you will self quarantine. Those in Norway can leave but cruise liners can only let passengers off at their final destination. Various other measures are in place onboard - I left on a fjordline ferry last night, they have reduced capacity by 75% to ensure social distancing.
As of lunchtime today no ferries are running between Norway and Denmark until 13 April. I am due back their next weekend and have a home to go to but am not holding my breath on that one!

Different rules apply to the Hurtigruten which starts and ends in Norway.

My parents are currently on ship “Nordlys” between Kirkenes and Bergen.
marinetraffic.com

My uncle, who as well as my aunt is with them, told my cousin they plan to mutiny and set a course for Aberdeen if they are not allowed to disembark.

 

[Lightning]

If the roads across Europe are now closed, what’s going to happen to deliveries of essential supplies, like food?

 

[Amarillo]

If the roads across Europe are now closed, what’s going to happen to deliveries of essential supplies, like food?

I think I read that Czechia was allowing truck drivers through and that Denmark was allowing foreigners through on a “case by case” basis.