The most prestigious unit of Norway’s military, the royal guard, has been outflanked by a wave of gastroenteritis, military officials said on Wednesday.
Of the 1 000 or so soldiers tasked among other things with guarding the royal palace, no fewer than 138 were placed in quarantine for five days last week after they came down with a virus that causes intestinal illness, a spokesperson for the royal guard, Robin Brynildsen, said.
Security around King Harald and the rest of the royal family was, however, never compromised, as most of those who fell ill were recent recruits too fresh to be assigned to palace duty.
“We live in such close proximity that it is easy to contract a virus once it appears,” Brynildsen said.
On Wednesday, 11 days after the outbreak, four guards were still too sick to report for duty. — AFP