COVID-19 and allied training in Norway, including exercise Cold Response 2022 (CR22)
The Norwegian Armed Forces have implemented a number of measures and plans to ensure that allied training in Norway is carried out safely, and without spreading the coronavirus and COVID-19. These measures also apply to the Norwegian-led winter exercise Cold Response, set to take place in March 2022.
Allied troops deploying to Norway, must comply to stricter entry measures than the official national guidelines for civilians who enter Norway.
Some of the measures:
Before deploying to Norway
- Ten days prior to departure to Norway, all participating military units must limit their number of close contacts. They must also avoid social activities that could increase the risk of infection.
- Close contacts can deploy after a five-day quarantine in their home country.
- All foreign participants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or recently have undergone the disease. A booster vaccine is also recommended, and this should be taken no later than seven days before deploying to Norway.
- All foreign participants must also provide a negative PCR test for COVID-19. The test must be taken within 72 hours before entering Norway. If the PCR test comes back positive, the participant may not deploy to Norway.
Arriving in Norway
- Each participating nation must present documentation of negative PCR tests taken before departure, and valid vaccination status for all their participants.
- All participants must take a new COVID-19 test within 24 hours after arriving in Norway.
- Should anyone test positive for COVID-19, they will immediately be put in isolation under the auspices of the Norwegian Armed Forces.
Preventive measures
- The Norwegian Armed Forces have specific plans for handling and containing any outbreak of COVID-19.
- The Norwegian Armed Forces and NATO have their own medical facilities that can treat cases of illness. Since most participants are young and in good physical shape, we expect the need for intensive care to be very low.
- Allied and Norwegian medical capabilities are highly competent and fully capable of dealing with any outbreak of COVID-19. This means that a COVID-19 outbreak among the participants will not place any additional burden on the civilian health care in Norway.
- The Norwegian Armed Forces have the resources to take care of personnel who show symptoms of COVID-19, as defined by national health authorities. This includes isolation, rapid testing, contact tracing, and conducting tests for PCR analysis.
- Foreign participants must avoid any unnecessary contact with the local population.