Iceland joined on February 25, 2022 the list of countries having lifted all of their restrictions against Covid-19, despite a still large number of cases, the government announced on Wednesday.
This decision, in line with the timetable for the gradual lifting of measures against the virus set by the executive, concerns both internal measures and border controls.
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Wild beauty of the south coast
To explain the lifting of the restrictions, Willum Þór Þórsson, the Minister of Health, assured on Wednesday February 23 in a press release that “
the generalized resistance of society to Covid-19 is the main way out of the epidemic.
And to achieve this, as many people as possible must be infected with the virus, because vaccines are not enough, even if they offer good protection against serious diseases
,” he added.
On site, it is therefore the end of the gauges in public places and the early closing of restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
Tourists will be able to rediscover the natural wonders of this country where water and magma shape the landscape without having to plan a PCR test on the way there or on the way back.
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Return to a “normal” life
“We are returning to normal life but the virus is still with us
,” Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir said after a government meeting in Reykjavik.
The leader, who tested positive for Covid-19 in mid-February, contaminated by a member of her family, did not rule out having to impose new measures if the situation required it – for example with the appearance of a new variant.
The country's authorities expect to reach collective immunity covering around 80% of the population by the second half of March, its chief epidemiologist said in a press release.
In the past 24 hours, the country of 370,000 has recorded 2,885 additional cases, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to more than 115,000. The country had already lifted its domestic restrictions twice in the past - at the beginning summer 2020 and then summer 2021 - but the lifting at the borders is a first.
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