Bjarti, 33, and the family came from South Africa:

The family from Gjøvik was visiting the family in South Africa, and they boarded the plane to Norway on Thursday evening.

At that time, the news of the new mutant Omikron had not yet spread around the world.

But when they stopped in Holland, the tune was completely different.

During the night, disturbing reports of a new, highly infectious mutant began arriving.

Stop

When the passengers of the plane that landed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport prepared to leave the plane, they were stopped.

So Piarty Ansrud, his wife Abigail and their two young children had to spend several hours on board, before Dutch authorities decided what to do with the passengers.

In the end, they were allowed into a separate part of the station, where everyone had to be tested. On Saturday, it became known that 61 of the 600 passengers who came from South Africa to the Netherlands have tested positive for the virus.

– It was a bit surprising that there were so many. There was also not much space in the station, so we were close, Onsrud tells TV 2.

He was Dagbladet Who mentioned the situation first.

Do not judge

The family eventually received a negative test result, and thus was able to return to Norway. On Friday evening, Norwegian authorities announced that they had imposed strict entry restrictions on travelers from South Africa and seven other countries.

This means that everyone, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not, must be isolated upon return from one of these countries.

But when Unsrod and the family landed in Gardermoen on Saturday morning, there was no control.

There wasn’t much to follow, and we walked straight to the baggage hall. Then there was someone who asked us if we had been vaccinated, after which we could actually go straight to the parking lot, he says.

He can hardly open the door

But the 33-year-old, a doctor, felt the need to say they came from South Africa.

Only then were they offered a test and accommodation in a quarantine hotel. The first rapid test was negative.

– Now this came very quickly, so perhaps they did not have time to prepare. But when you’re going to do the follow-up, you have to start a follow-up machine, Unsrod says.

Now at least three days waiting for family quarantine hotels.

We were given two single rooms that we could share. We are barely allowed to open the door, and fresh air doesn’t seem to be a priority either, says the 33-year-old.

boost effort

Justice and Emergency Management Minister Emily Inger Mehl told TV 2 on Friday evening that police would step up efforts at the border.

– Now there are clear rules for who come from these countries. Then people have to deal with the matter, or they can risk fines and deportation if they are not Norwegian, says the minister.

It is urging everyone to vigorously follow the authorities’ orders regarding hotel quarantine and testing.

We all have a common interest in delaying this new infection and slowing down the spread of infection as much as possible. Inger Mehl says it would be appropriate for the police to follow those who might not follow the rules.