Newsletter: The hidden victims of the virus
Tourism in Svalbard is about to collapse if nothing changes. Photo: Jan Hvizdal
Dear High North News reader! It is a new spring. The world is slowly drawing breath after the iron claw of the Corona virus and we squint towards the spring sun. It is finally possible to imagine a future without restrictions, quarantine, home office- and school, and isolation. However, our newly found freedom does not apply to all. Though while most Norwegians plan their summer holidays in their own country, Svalbard is on the outside and sees its very existence rationale melting away with the last of the sunny winter snow.
This week brought several cries for help from a united tourist industry in Svalbard, where companies are about to go under due to a local regulation requiring incoming travelers from the Norwegian mainland to spend 14 days in self-quarantine before being allowed anywhere or anything.
The situation on the island is complex. And in his Friday commentary, our Editor-in-Chief Arne O. Holm speaks about one of the most vulnerable groups living in Svalbard being hit hard in a way no one could have imagined. High North News will keep monitoring the situation on Svalbard in the coming days and weeks.
Despite the Corona crisis, Norwegian mining company Rana Gruber has managed to secure a lucrative cooperation agreement.
Administrerende direktør i Rana Gruber, Gunnar Moe. Foto: Rana Gruber.
We have also had extensive coverage (in Norwegian) regarding a new whitepaper about the Norwegian fish license system, the so-called "quota system". The Office of the Auditor General presented an assessment containing stark criticism of Norwegian fish policies in the 2004-2018 period.
However, only a week after the OAG, the new whitepaper was adopted by a narrow majority of the parliamentary votes following support from the government parties and the ex-government Progress Party this Thursday.
There are fewer Covid-19 stories these days, however, High North News is not letting it go and will keep monitoring the situation. Sadly, the situation in Russia is rather dismal as the figures for the number of Corona infections are soaring. Russia is currently #7 on the list of countries with the highest number of infections in the world, after surpassing China, Turkey and Iran last week.
We at High North News would like to thank you for following us this past week. Thank you for all your contributions, tips and inputs. Keep it up, and we will keep supplying you with fresh news from the High North.
All the best for the upcoming week!
Trine Jonassen
News Editor, High North News