Hotel in Reykjavík Converted into Quarantine

Fosshotel Lind in Reykjavík, has been converted into a quarantine for tourists and others unable to be in quarantine at home during the COVID-19 epidemic, mbl.is reports.

So far, all 37 confirmed cases of the virus in Iceland are limited to Icelanders who contracted the disease abroad, either while skiing in Austria or in Italy. All of them have been able to be in quarantine at home.

Consequently, the facility on Rauðarárstígur is not yet in use, but everything is in place, should the need arise.

The bulk of the 14 days in quarantine will be spent inside traditional hotel rooms. The facility is expected to be primarily used for foreign nationals and for Icelanders who, for some reason, are unable to be in quarantine elsewhere.

All referrals to the quarantine will be done by staff at health clinics or at Landspítali National University Hospital. As of yesterday afternoon, no one had been referred to the facility.

Red Cross volunteers will be available on location for psychological support, if needed.

“We have beds for at least 160 people,” states Gylfi Þór Þorsteinsson, manager of the facility. The largest rooms will be used to house families.

In case someone falls ill from COVID-19 while in quarantine, he or she will be transferred to the fourth floor of the hotel, where they would have to remain in their rooms.

In the video above, you can take a look at the facility. Information provided in the video by Gylfi Þorsteinsson, the manager, is detailed in the article.