The Norwegian government has decided to open the border to six Swedish regions.
”This is encouraging news,” says Tomas Nilsson, site manager at Maximat in Töcksfors, Värmland.
Thursday's expected decision means that the Norwegian entry quarantine for visitors to Gotland, Jämtland, Värmland, Västerbotten, Västernorrland and Örebro counties will be lifted this weekend. The government is thus following the recommendation from the Swedish Institute of Public Health - equivalent to the Swedish Public Health Agency - from earlier this week.
The Swedish border traders are receiving the news with joy. Amira Tucek, store manager at Systembolaget Årjäng, is getting ready for the onslaught.
”"It will pick up again when the border opens. We will introduce lock-down and we will ensure that our customers keep their distance," she says.
”But we are well prepared both with goods and with staff.”
Tomas Nilsson at Maximat in Töcksfors also expects full swing again:
”"We have already started ordering goods and calling in staff who have been laid off. It is a disaster for us when the border is closed. We depend on Norwegian customers."”
Norway closed the border with Sweden this spring, which hit cross-border trade hard in Värmland and Bohuslän.
At the end of July, the border was reopened, including to Värmland. But the buying spree was short-lived as it was closed again on August 12th.
The Swedish Institute of Public Health has now determined that the number of cases in the six Swedish regions has decreased significantly in recent weeks. They are therefore being reclassified from red to yellow.
”"I am happy about the positive development in several regions in Sweden," said Minister of Health and Social Care Bent Høie at a press conference on Wednesday.
The border opening will take effect from midnight on Saturday. This means that border trade in Värmland, in Charlottenberg, Töcksfors and Årjäng, can expect an influx of Norwegian customers this weekend.
However, the border stores in Nordby in Strömstad, which is located in Bohuslän, will have to do without their Norwegian customers for the time being.
Source: TT
