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Rule change eases path to Covid-19 testing in Norway

The Local Norway
The Local Norway - [email protected]
Rule change eases path to Covid-19 testing in Norway
Illustration photo. AFP

Access to coronavirus testing will become easier in Norway with new rules introduced from Wednesday.

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A doctors’ referral will not be a requirement for people who want to be tested for coronavirus as of Wednesday.

The change was reported by media in Norway including VG.

Assistant director of the Norwegian Directorate of Health Espen Nakstad confirmed to the newspaper the change in test criteria.

“The difference is that we are now saying that everyone who suspects they might be infected should have the chance to get tested without a doctor’s assessment. It is about no longer needing to be assessed by the doctor in the (local) municipality, but you must still suspect yourself that you are infected,” Nakstad told VG.

“No referral or doctor’s assessment prior to testing. You just have to contact your local municipality and register your wish to be tested,” he clarified.

 

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The government’s guidelines to municipalities over who should be given a test now encompasses people with new symptoms of respiratory infection or other symptoms; and people who think they might have been infected through close contact with an infected person or travel to a country with high Covid-19 incidence.

READ ALSO: UPDATED: MAP: Which countries are open for tourism to and from Norway?

NIPH recommends all people who think they might have coronavirus symptoms to seek a test as quickly as possible.

“We are making this change to ensure consistent practice across the country, and to detect as many people as possible with Covid-19,” Nakstad told VG.

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