Norway scraps plan for curfew legislation

Draft legislation submitted for a round of hearings last month drew fierce opposition to the measure, including from some of the minority centre-right coalition's supporters in parliament. While Norway has one of Europe's lowest rates of deaths from the novel coronavirus, the initial proposal of curfew legislation was made during a spike of infections at the start of the year.

The Norwegian government is scrapping a plan to introduce legislation permitting the use of curfews in the fight against emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Justice Minister Monica Maeland said on Wednesday. Draft legislation submitted for a round of hearings last month drew fierce opposition to the measure, including from some of the minority centre-right coalition's supporters in parliament.

While Norway has one of Europe's lowest rates of deaths from the novel coronavirus, the initial proposal of curfew legislation was made during a spike of infections at the start of the year. Infections have since dropped however, as other strict measures such as a temporary closure of shopping centres in the capital region took effect.

"We have not needed this tool so far. That's still the situation and we hope it will stay that way," Maeland said in a statement.