Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Norway to accept Covid passports from England and Wales 

Next week, Norway will begin to accept the NHS Covid pass app as proof of vaccination, Norway’s foreign minister has said. 

“It is very positive that we get this solution in place for everyone with family, friends and partners in England and Wales who have corona certificates and who will now have the opportunity to travel to Norway,” Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide confirmed to national newspaper VG.

Travellers with the NHS app will be treated the same as arrivals using the EU Covid passport. This means that entry will open to people who have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 in the past six months and can prove so via the NHS app. 

In addition, travellers will no longer need to test before and after arrival in Norway, quarantine, or register their entry. 

An official date on when Norway will accept the NHS app has not been set, so in the meantime, Norway will not be taking NHS passes. 

READ ALSO: What does Norway being on the UK’s green list mean for travellers?

The rules won’t apply to people who have been fully vaccinated in Northern Ireland or Scotland as they have their own solutions. 

Norway typically announces significant changes to its travel rules on a Friday, so we may have a solid date later today. 

Illegal pesticides found in Norwegian foods

According to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, carcinogenic and illegal toxins have been found in a variety of foods. 

Liver pâté, sardines, ice cream, sour cream dressing, and bearnaise sauce are among the Norwegian foods found to contain the illegal carcinogenic pesticide ethylene oxide. 

Pesticide ethylene oxide has been in products that contain locust bean gum. The additive is approved by food safety authorities and is extracted from seeds of the fruits of the carob trees. However, the pesticide isn’t typically found in the additive.

Product’s containing the toxic substance are now being withdrawn from the market. 

You can look at the list of products that are being pulled from the market here.

READ ALSO: Five Norwegian foods that aren’t as bad as they sound… and one that is

Moderna deliveries slashed for next two weeks

State broadcaster NRK have reported that all municipalities that were set to receive doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine, will have their shipments halved for the next two weeks.

"We will try and make up for this as much as possible so municipalities do not have to make too drastic changes in their vaccination programs," Jasper Littman, director of vaccines at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health," told VG. 

560 new Covid-19 cases in Norway 

On Thursday, 560 new cases of coronavirus infection were recorded in Norway. This is 204 more than the average of the previous seven days, which is 356. 

In Oslo, 80 Covid-19 infections were registered. 

Total number of Covid-19 cases in Norway. Source: NIPH