The winter drill Cold Response with 15,000 participants will start on 12 March and take place in an area in northern Norway that stretches from the town of Narvik to Finnmark County which borders Russia, APA reports citing Sputnik.
Some of the participants in Norway's major drill Cold Response featuring 6,000 foreign soldiers are being quarantined over suspicions of being affected by the coronavirus outbreak, according to national broadcaster NRK.
“For some, this may mean that they cannot participate in Cold Response, as was planned”, Norwegian Army Colonel Lieutenant Per Espen Strande said.
Per Espen Strande didn't specify how many people have been quarantined, although several sailors in the Norwegian Navy have been sent home on suspicion of infection.
“We've already sent people home. On Monday, six were asked to go home, yesterday there were a couple more. There are people who have been in vulnerable areas or in connection with people who have been there”, Navy Commander Torill Herland said.
The Armed Forces have tightened their routines to prevent any spread of disease, including wider spacing in canteens and packaged food.
“We do this in order to maintain our operational capability, so that we can fulfil our mission. In addition, we do it to be able to participate in Cold Response. I can say that we have not detected a single case of coronavirus [in the Armed Forces] so far. Furthermore, we have routines for infection detection and quarantine. Our professionals are in close dialogue with both the Public Health Institute and municipal doctors, and coordinated efforts in connection with the coronavirus outbreak are based on that”, Strande stressed.
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