Much has been said and written about Erna Solberg’s birthday celebration in Geilo during the winter holidays. The Prime Minister has strongly regretted that she had 13 and 14 people present respectively during a dinner at the restaurant Hallingstuene on 25 February, and in his short-term rented apartment the next day.
But while the prime minister is lying flat when it comes to the restaurant dinner, she thinks the picture is nuanced when it comes to the sushi team.
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Assessing police case
While it is not disputed that the Hallingstuene session comes under the wording of the regulation on “ban on events”, Solberg believes that the sushi meal is not covered by the provision. However, the Prime Minister does not deny that too many were present, however that the gathering was to be regarded as an event. She claims she was not the organizer of any of the events.
The police are now considering opening a case against the Prime Minister on the basis of the Hallingstuene dinner.
– It is not comfortable to be under police investigation, but it is as deserved, Solberg told Dagbladet earlier today.
– Does not apply to rented apartments
Now she is supported by the Ministry of Health and Care Services. In a very detailed e-mail to Dagbladet, senior adviser Trude Bakke writes that the regulations do not cover cabins and rented apartments.
Ready for police questioning: – Not organizer
– The similarity with private homes, the need to respect privacy and the prehistory of the regulations indicate that the regulations do not apply to gatherings in hotel rooms and in short-term rented apartments, she writes.
The head of the ministry, Minister of Health Bent Høie, yesterday characterized the Geilo collections as “not good”.
– We who are responsible for making the rules must also follow them, it is very important, he said to Dagbladet.
Made for other purposes
Bakke dwells on the wording of the regulations «In a public place or in premises and outdoor areas that are rented or lent out, including hotels, town halls, town halls, conference halls and halls».
Such was the Erna party
The senior adviser admits that the wording can apparently be understood to mean that the regulations include, for example, Solberg’s rented apartment, as it is a room in a hotel that is “rented out”. But emphasizes that it is aimed at other cases than Solberg’s sushi team:
– When the regulation of private gatherings was introduced, however, it was primarily relevant to regulate how many people could be present in meeting rooms, conference rooms, etc. Hotel rooms or apartments were not considered specifically, Bakke writes.
She further explains that the wording was adjusted over the last year.
– From 7 May 2020, the event provision of the covid-19 regulations «event in a public place» applied. By public place is meant a place intended for ordinary traffic or a place where the public travels, such as a park or a restaurant. It was clear at the time that the provision did not apply to hotel rooms or apartments for short-term rent, the senior adviser writes.
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Was expanded
– The government changed the provision so that from 8 June it also applied to «events in premises that are rented out, including hotel facilities, parish houses, assembly halls, conference halls and halls». The purpose of this was to clarify that such premises where many could meet, should be covered by the provisions, even if they could be closed to others than registered or paying, Bakke writes.
She explains that the background for the change was statements from the business community that, for example, hotels and conference halls were not to be considered a public place because the public could be shut out. In addition, infection control considerations also applied to large gatherings of people in such premises.
– At that time, it was allowed to meet up to 50 people, which was later increased to 200. It was therefore not the intention of this to let the provisions apply where guests spend the night. Hotel rooms will not normally accommodate very many people and will under no circumstances be considered a public place to which the public has access, states the Ministry of Health’s spokeswoman.
– Similar to private housing
Bakke further writes that hotel rooms or apartments that are rented for accommodation “have strong similarities with private homes”.
– Nothing to shout about
– Care must be taken to regulate the right to family life and privacy. The Ministry has emphasized that the regulations do not apply to private housing, the senior adviser writes and concludes:
– These conditions indicate that an event in a hotel room or short-term rental apartments used for accommodation is not covered by the regulations.
– Undoubtedly
Law professor Hans F. Marthinussen disagrees with Solberg’s claim that the restaurant dinner falls under the regulations, while the sushi team in the apartment does not. Opposite NRK he refers to the previously mentioned wording about which premises are covered by the definition of event – «In a public place or in premises and outdoor areas that are rented or lent out, including hotels, town halls, town halls, conference halls and halls».
– I believe that a rented apartment without a doubt falls under this definition. Then maybe Solberg thinks that someone who rents a house or an apartment and invites 100 people, just defies recommendations? he says to the state channel.
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