Kindergarten, schools and higher education

Advice for infection control in kindergarten and school

Guidelines for infection control

The measures for infection control in schools and kindergarten will vary based on the local level of infection in the municipality. The national guidelines for infection control follow the traffic light model based on the levels green, yellow and red for the measures presented.

The present level of infection in Norway does not warrant any municipality to follow the measures of a green level. Most municipalities are at level yellow, while some are at level red.  Visit the website of the local municipality for information on the level and measures in your municipality.

You can read more about the guidelines here:

• Guidelines for infection control in kindergartens (in Norwegian).
• Guidelines for infection control for primary school levels 1st – 7th (in Norwegian).
• Guidelines for infection control for lower secondary school (levels 8th – 10th) and upper secondary school (in Norwegian).
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The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training provides . Here you will also find information in different languages.

Children and youth in risk groups

Based on the precautionary principle some children might be advised not to be physically present at school. The Norwegian Society of Paediatricians (Norsk barnelegeforening) have in consultation with Norwegian Institute of Public Health prepared in children and youth, and whether any special considerations need to be taken into account (in Norwegian). 

"How much snot is OK?"

The regular, slightly runny nose - quite typical during autumn- and wintertime - is OK as long as the general condition of the child is otherwise good with no signs of a fever, cough or a sore throat. Children in kindergarten and primary school with a runny nose as the only symptom but who otherwise are in a good condition do not need to stay at home nor be tested. The same applies for familiar symptoms of an established allergy.

If the child develops symptoms of a recent respiratory infection (the last 24 hours), the child should be kept at home and be tested. Especially if the child has several symptoms at the same time, such as fever, cough, sore throat, stuffy and runny nose or has a reduced general condition.

If the child has been tested, the test result must be available before the child can return to kindergarten / school, regardless of whether the child no longer has symptoms. Everyone who is diagnosed with covid-19 must be in isolation, and followed up by the health service in the municipality.

Children who have had a respiratory infection (not COVID-19) can return to kindergarten/school once their general condition has improved. This applies even if some symptoms still linger, such as snot (irrespective of colour of the mucus) and occasional cough. Such lingering symptoms are common for younger children after recovering from a respiratory infection. This applies if the symptoms can be linked to the preceding respiratory infection and the symptoms are not new or increasing.

Flowchart

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has built a flowchart to help parents assess whether or not a child with respiratory symptoms need to stay at home (FHI.no).

Higher education

Students in Norway

Students can be physically present when teaching at universities.

The guidelines for infection control must be followed. 

The general advice for infection control that applies at the workplace also applies for employees at educational institutions.

The educational institution is responsible for developing their own guidelines for infection control. See questions and answers related to the coronavirus for studens in Norway at regjeringen.no (in Norwegian).

Norwegian students abroad

The Ministry of Education and Research offers information for Norwegian international students (in Norwegian). Here you can read more about travelling back to your place of study and planning for studies abroad.

All Norwegian citizens who are staying abroad are encouraged to register at the travel registration portal (in Norwegian) hosted by the Foreign Ministry. This will allow the Norwegian authorities to quickly contact you if required.

Folk high schools and Bible schools

There are no national measures issued for closing down folk high schools or Bible schools. The folk high schools should follow recommendations and guidelines from the local health authorities. For information, refer to the website of the local municipality.

Sports and other organized leisure activities

Guidelines for infection control in sports

See the Infection control for sport (COVID-19) (in Norwegian) for information on sports events or training and how to implement infection control in changing rooms.