Statement at Press Conference for Kids

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the start of a very strange school week.

First, I’d just like to say that I think that you are doing a very good job of staying at home.  

I know that it can be boring to be away from school, and from your friends and usual sports activities, but now that the coronavirus has come to Norway, we need to look after each other by not getting too close to each other.

It is important that we don’t meet up in large groups, no matter what we are doing.

And we can’t do everything we would normally have been doing, like playing, taking part in football matches and going to birthday parties.

Because, as the Prime Minister said, we must all take care not to infect the people around us. It is important to remember that it is more dangerous for people who are already ill and old people to get coronavirus than it is for children. 

That is why we have closed all the schools and nursery schools in Norway – so that we don’t infect each other.

A lot of people are wondering how long the schools will stay closed. We don’t know for sure yet. For the time being, we have closed everything for two weeks, but it may be for longer.

But they will open again at some point.

As I said, we have closed the schools so that as few people as possible get infected.

But the fact that schools are closed doesn’t mean that everyone is on holiday. When it’s not possible to go to school, it’s important to find other ways of learning – both by using digital tools and by working alone.

I think all schoolchildren should be very proud of their teachers, who have managed to make such good arrangements for you to learn from home at such short notice. 

Now it is your turn to show that you can adapt too, by doing your schoolwork properly and helping each other online.  

Now Kjell Ingolf, the Minister of Children and Families, is going to say a few words, and I’ll answer your questions afterwards.