1. Describe your typical day.

In the Oslo area, all employers who are able to are encouraged to work from home. Therefore my typical work-day consists of opening my laptop at the living-room table, reading documents on the screen, commenting and writing statements, either in the documents or via e-mail, plus holding several online meetings -- either one-on-one or with more people. My workplace uses Skype for business. I cannot use Zoom due to security issues and the fact that I work at the Ministry of Education and Research in Norway (which is strict on security). Hanne's (my wife) workplace allows for Zoom and Teams though, and she works from home also. She actually held her Ph.D. lecture and dissertation via Zoom a few weeks ago!

Normally I would have to commute by bus or train (about 30-45 mins) to get into town and the office, but there are travel restrictions now, and employers in the Ministry are encouraged not to use public transport, particularly not during rush hours. However, once or twice a week I head into the office, sometimes by car, sometimes by bus, and sometimes by train -- trying to avoid rush-hours.

In my spare time I go for a run, go roller-skiing (picture shown to the right), play my guitar, record music, tend the garden, and watch Netflix with Hanne. Sometimes I drive into town to get Tuva (my daughter) so she can spend a few days at home. Also sometimes I help Anja (my other daughter) with her schoolwork. Even though schools have reopened, it is just partially in most places, so Anja is still working from home most days. 

2. What restrictions have been imposed and do you think more there should be more or less regulation?

There are travel-restrictions regarding work, as mentioned. No private gatherings of more than 20 people, and under the condition that each person is at least 1 meter (about 3 feet) apart. No concerts or public arrangements with more than 50 people, again under the 1 meter rule. On public transport, every other seat is blocked. No traveling abroad, but if you do, you are put in a 10 day quarantine upon your return. Borders are closed to practically all foreigners. At first, there were travel restrictions saying people should stay at home and in their own towns -- not leaving for their cabins by the sea or in the mountains. For the Easter holiday, people had to stay at home, but now we are allowed to travel within Norway again, so we can go to our cabins if we want.

Restaurants, pubs, hairdressers, and other non-essential businesses were also closed from March 12th, but are now reopening with restrictions and guidances on how to avoid spreading the virus. Also, sports are picking up again - the first "contact" sport to reopen training and matches is football (or soccer as you would call it:-)).

I think the strict restrictions were right at the time they were imposed. The spreading of the virus was out of control, and the possibility that our health-care system would be totally overwhelmed was imminent. In retrospect, we've learned that the schools and universities probably could have stayed open with restrictions like no handshakes, no hugs, washing hands frequently, and the 1 meter rule -- these institutions played a very little role in spreading the virus. The health officials never actually advised the government to close down schools, but they did (better safe than sorry, I guess they thought). So if anything, I think there could have been less regulation, but that is in hindsight. Also, it could very well be that the closing down of the whole education sector has had an important indirect effect in making parents stay at home and work from home. There has been much less traveling, and less contact at workplaces because of that, so maybe it was important to close the schools.

Comparatively, few people have died from the virus in Norway. (Which means we must have done something, right?!) There have been 236 deaths, whereas Denmark has had 571, and Sweden 4,395. Huge difference. Sweden didn’t impose strict restrictions like Norway and Denmark did, so the restrictions clearly saved many lives.  

3. How do people feel about social distancing, overall?

This is difficult to answer. Not many people have had to completely quarantine, but those who have report of depressing isolation and boredom, naturally. There have been some reports of people breaking a mandatory quarantine to go to the store, but not many. In general, there is an understanding of the need for quarantine/isolation for people who have been sick themselves or in contact with someone who got sick. People are also supposed to quarantine for ten days if they travel outside of Norway, but this has been somewhat contested. It is common for Norwegians who live close to Sweden to cross the boarder to shop -- tobacco, alcohol, and food in general is much cheaper in Sweden than in Norway. People have been stopped on their way back into Norway and put in quarantine (in their homes) by the authorities. 10 days in quarantine may seem harsh for a small trip to the supermarket (even if it is in Sweden), but the regulations have been clear. Then again, surely some have been able to cross the boarder unnoticed (long border, impossible to control all roads), and still some will surely break the quarantine after re-entering Norway, because the authorities have no way of controlling that they actually stay at home.

A meme from Håkon: