Since the outbreak of corona virus made the working day different for most royals, Crown Prince Haakon has stepped up his activity when it comes to getting online briefings on important issues around fighting the virus. For the third time in less than two weeks, the Crown Prince held on Thursday two new online meetings to learn more about the work being done across Norway.
The Crown Prince’s workday started in the Crown Prince Family`s home, the Skaugum estate just outside Oslo. The first video call was with representatives from the Norwegian Army. Representatives from the Royal Norwegian Home Guard have been called into service at the Norwegian borders as a result of the corona pandemic. They are now present at the largest border crossings to turn away people with no permitted reason to enter Norway.
The meeting took place via video. The Crown Prince joined the call from Skaugum, while eight soldiers in the Home Guard had gathered in a meeting room at Oslo Airport Gardermoen. Henning Holtet, area commander for the Home Guard force at Norway’s main airport, welcomed and Chief Sergeant Per Morten Bue briefed the Crown Prince on the work that the soldiers are doing. About 100 soldiers from the Home Guard are assisting the Norwegian police border control at the airport.
The Crown Prince praised the soldiers for their efforts. His Royal Highness told them: “I think it seems that you in the Home Guard have successfully solved the assignments you have received so far. That is good to see. There are also Home Guard soldiers elsewhere than at Oslo Airport. I know that for many of you, there is a sacrifice involved. Many of you have family and work at home that you need to lay down because of this mission.”
Later on Thursday, the Crown Prince attended a meeting to hear how the state’s work to help needy children in these times is going. His Royal Highness talked to the leadership group of the Directorate for Children, Youth and Family and the regional directors of the Children, Youth and Family Agency. The Crown Prince praised their work, saying: “The work done for children and young people is incredibly important for Norwegian society. Every day, but especially now in this demanding situation”.
Norway has seen a stabilization in the number of new patients and believes that they are now starting on their way to fighting the virus, although it is known that this will take a long time. Norway is now the Nordic nation with the most infected, but still the fewest dead. As of 26 March 2020, Norway has performed 73,892 tests, reported 3,315 confirmed cases and 14 deaths.
