Norway to take "strongest-ever peacetime measures" as coronavirus spreads

Norway will close a wide range of public and private institutions, including schools and restaurants, and halt all sporting events, in a bid to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the government announced on Thursday.

Health workers involved in the treatment of patients will be forbidden from leaving the country at least until the end of April, and any person returning from abroad will be quarantined for two weeks, it said. "Today, Norway will take its strongest-ever peacetime measures," Prime Minister Erna Solberg told a news conference.

"These are very invasive measures, she added. Since Norway's first case of the virus was confirmed on Feb. 26, the total number of infected people had risen to 621 as of Wednesday, including one at an offshore oilfield.

"The goal is to stop the virus, although it's not certain we'll be able to," said Bjoern Guldvog, the director general of the Norwegian Directorate of Health. Separately, the central bank announced it will offer extra liquidity to banks in the form of three-month loans amid market turmoil caused by the virus outbreak.

"The loans are being offered to ensure that the policy rate passes through to money market rates," Norges Bank said in a statement. The Norwegian stock market fell by 10% on Thursday while the crown currency weakened by 4% against the euro.