Iceland, one of the first countries in the world to lift its health checks for vaccinated travelers, announced new restrictions on Friday July 23 to deal with a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases.
“
Vaccination has progressed particularly well in Iceland and we can congratulate ourselves on that,
” Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir told state television after a ministerial meeting in Egilsstadir, eastern Iceland.
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We must however (take measures) to alleviate the current situation
," she added.
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From Sunday midnight until August 13, public gatherings will be limited to 200 people, the one-meter distancing rule will come into force again, and bars and restaurants will have to close at 11:00 p.m. Swimming pools and sports halls will only be able to open at 75% of their capacity and the wearing of a mask will again be compulsory indoors.
With a very high rate of vaccinations - more than 85% of the population over 16 is fully vaccinated - Iceland had lifted all its domestic restrictions almost a month ago, claiming a first in Europe . But since July 12, the island has been facing a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases: 355 new contaminations have been recorded, affecting three quarters of those vaccinated. The majority of these cases are related to the Delta variant, according to health authorities. We have to go back to the end of October to find such a large number of daily infections. Serious cases are currently few: only three people are currently hospitalized.
"
On the one hand, we see that the infections are much more important than we would have liked, but what we need to see better are the severe cases and what proportion they represent in relation to the number of infected
", indicated on public television the Minister of Health Svandis Svavarsdottir. On Monday, the Ministry of Health had already announced to reinstate the requirement of a negative PCR test of less than 72 hours to be presented before arriving in Iceland for vaccinated travelers, regardless of their place of residence. This measure will come into effect on July 27.