King Harald and Queen Sonja have both tested negative for Covid-19. His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen are out of quarantine and back to work from Friday 27 November. All employees at the Palace who were quarantined have also tested negative and are on their way back to work. This was reported by the Royal Court in a statement on Thursday.
It was on Thursday last week that King Harald and Queen Sonja where put in quarantine after a Royal Court employee tested positive for Covid-19. King Harald then went into self-imposed home quarantine. Queen Sonja was also in quarantine as a result of close contact with the person in question. Additional 14 employees at the Royal Court where also put into quarantine.
As a result of the quarantine, His Majesty the King lead the Council of State on November 20th 2020 by telephone from Bygdø Royal Estate. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince took over his father`s role and attended an audience with the President of Estonia as planned at the Royal Palace on the same day.
The Royal Court states that they have routines that are in line with rules and recommendations from the authorities related to infection control, including the practice of distance regulations, the use of face masks, intensified cleaning and hand hygiene, as well as the use of home offices.
This was not the first time the King and Queen have been quarantined. When the King and Queen completed their state visit to Jordan earlier this year, the royals went into isolation after returning home in line with the then newly introduced infection control rules. However, this is the first time the royals have been quarantined as a result of close contact with an infected person. It is not yet known who at the Royal Court is infected. King Harald was hospitalized earlier this autumn. He was tested for Covid-19 then, but the test was negative. The hospitalization was then a part of a successful heart operation.
