Quick Test Required upon Arrival in Svalbard The Norwegian government has decided that anyone arriving in Svalbard must self-test for Corona within 24 hours of arrival.
The High North Tour 2021: The Coast-Based Tourist Industry Aims for Norwegians This Year Too The pandemic prevented foreign tourists last year, though Kjartan Danielsen Carlsen is happy that Norwegians too discovered Northern Norway. On the day when I visited Nyksund and Sea Safari Øksnes, only the weather stopped him from going out at sea.
The High North Tour 2021: «It was Urgent for Months» Valnesfjord, Fauske, Nordland: Han Sylte is not just a start-up entrepreneur. It is a universe of its own. When the pandemic hit, Mathilde Winther had invested heavily in new buildings. “All of a sudden we had no money to pay the mortgage. It was a matter of urgency for months.”
Unanimous Finance Committee Support for Svalbard Tourism Crisis Package The Norwegian parliament’s finance committee proposes a new NOK 40 million crisis package for the tourist industry in Svalbard.
COVID-19 in Alaska: One Death and 116 Infection Cases Registered Tuesday On Tuesday, 116 new infeciton cases and one death related to the Corona virus were reported in Alaska, according to the state’s Institute of Health and Social Services.
Fear is Like a Root Filling Without Anesthesia Commentary: Fishermen and fish buyers all over the world fight against fear of closed processing facilities. At the same time, they fight a market in lockdown. In Alaska, the Corona virus alredy has a solid upper hand on the fish industry.
Covid-19 in Alaska: 239 New Cases Registered Sunday Authorities in Alaska registered 239 new cases of Covid-19 infections on Sunday. No new deaths were reported.
Svalbard Package Ready The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries has established the framework for the temporary grant scheme for the Svalbard tourist industry. Longyearbyen Local Council will govern the scheme and the application deadline is 22 January 2021.
When the “Completely Honest” Hurtigruten Uses the Police to Shield it from the Public Commentary: While the British company Hurtigurten ASA pushes the police before itself as a shield and makes itself unavailable for public scrutiny, companies with North Norwegian roots deliver results that are out of this world. Even internationally, an arena where – sadly – Hurtigruten is still the company placing Northern Norway on the map.
When Everybody Wants to Come to Where We Already Are – And a Plea to my American Friends Commentary: For the past few days, I have let my motorbike zigzag its way between mobile homes and camping caravans heading north. I have tasted the feeling of freedom that comes from moving about in a northern landscape while noticing at the same time that many are out to chase the same experience when summer holidays really kick off.
Alaska faces a summer without the income from cruise visitors Alaska was expecting a record 1.4 million cruise visitors – Now it faces a summer with none.
Competition to Counter Covid-19 Effects Innovative and creative young people in Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Scotland and Norway are invited to participate in a 48-hour virtual competition called the “North Atlantic Corona Challenge” from 29-31 May.
“We look forward to welcoming guests” After mandatory quarantine was introduced for incoming travelers in March due to Corona, Svalbard is no re-opening for travelers from the Norwegian mainland.
An Arctic Prison Commentary: There are a lot of victims to the Corona virus. Some of them are stuck on a polar islet just south of the North Pole. For decades, they have contributed to the ever-ongoing transformation of Longyerbyen. Now, they have received a severance package from the Norwegian state and been told to go home.
Wants to Lift Quarantine in Svalbard: “No Point in Waiting” Tourism companies in Svalbard are in despair over massive losses and request a date for reopening for tourists, just like the rest of Norway. “There is no longer any reason to maintain the quarantine”, says Svalbard’s Infection Control Chief Medical.
Iditarod Champion Wærner Stuck in Alaska, 63-Year Old Propeller Plane Might Come to the Rescue Almost one month has gone by since Thomas Wærner of Norway won the world’s longest sleddog race; the Iditarod. However, getting from Alaska to Norway with 25 dogs in times like these is no easy task, and there has been much insecurity around when he might be reunited with his family back home. Now, it appears that a 63-year old propeller plane might become the solution.
Quarantine Lifted in many North Norwegian Municipalities; - We do Not Know Whether It Has Worked Professor Ørjan Olsvik at the University of Tromsø says to High North News that there is no telling whether or not the quarantine regulations in Northern Norway have worked, as no controlled studies have been conducted.
We are Safely Sheltered from the Pandemic, Yet at the Eye of the Economic Storm Commentary: We are surely the only newspaper in the world to publish infection figures for Arctic and the High North every day. This is where we find our flock, as Tromsø Mayor Gunnar Wilhelmsen refers to his inhabitants. So far, statistics show that our politicians, health care workers, bureaucrats and – not to forget - the people who live up here in the High North are managing to keep the pandemic at bay.
Russia Has No Overall National Strategy for the Corona Crisis, Says Researcher “So far, it appears that the decisions about what measures to take in Russia are taken on a regional level”, says Julie Wilhelmsen, Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI). She says that Russia so far has not come up with an overall, national strategy for managing the Corona crisis.
LKAB: Mining Operations Proceeding, Worries About the Future So far, the present corona virus crisis has not affected demand or operations for the LKAB mining company. “We believe the present crisis will affect us negatively in the longer run. It is just a question of time and to what extent”, says LKAB’s press manager.
Stockfish Production Company Worries About Corona Effect A large share of the stockfish produced this time of year by Glea AS at Røst islands in Lofoten, Norway, will usually be sold to Italy in the autumn. At present, there is uncertainty as to when exports to Italy will resume again, says Glea Manager Rune Stokvold. He fears that they will be affected by future consequences of the corona crisis.
