Reuters :
Norwegian police said on Friday they have fined Prime Minister Erna Solberg for breaking Covid-19 social distancing rules when she organized a family gathering to celebrate her birthday.
The fine is for $2,352, Police Chief Ole Saeverud told a news conference. The two-term prime minister apologized last month for organizing an event for her 60th birthday with 13 family members at a mountain resort in late February, despite a government ban on gatherings of more than 10 people.
While the police would not have issued a fine in most such cases, the prime minister has been at the forefront of the government’s work to impose restrictions, police said. “Though the law is the same for all, all are not equal in front of the law,” said Saeverud, justifying the fine. “It is therefore correct to issue a fine to uphold the general public’s trust in the rules on social restrictions,” he said.
Police said Solberg and her husband, Sindre Finnes, made the decision together to hold a celebration and picked the restaurant, with Finnes taking care of the practical arrangements.
