No New Cases of COVID-19 in Iceland

At a press conference yesterday, health authorities announced that no new cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed the previous day. This is the second time this happens, the first time being April 23. The number of active cases keeps dropping and stood at 158 yesterday. At the height of the pandemic on April 5, active cases were 1,096.

The number of confirmed cases in Iceland is 1,792, and 46,377 people have been tested for the virus, representing almost 13 percent of the country’s population. A total of 1,624 people have recovered.

As of yesterday, 11 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized, one of whom was on a ventilator. The pandemic has claimed ten lives in Iceland.

Part of the West Fjords, where several cases were confirmed at once, have seen stronger restrictions regarding public gatherings than the rest of the country, but these will be eased on May 11, and after that the same restrictions will apply there as for the rest of the country.

The app Rakning C-19, launched to make tracing of transmissions easier, has been downloaded on 138,000 cell phones. Director of Health Alma Möller stated that the app likely becomes increasingly important the longer we’re fighting the pandemic.

The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Iceland two months ago, that is, on February 28. Alma believes that good preparation and the creation of a COVID-19 outpatient clinic at Landspítali National University Hospital helped limit the load on the health care system.

Landspítali CEO Páll Matthíasson stated that much has been learned from the COVID-19 experience: the increased use of remote healthcare, the systematic use of outpatient services, and increased cooperation between healthcare providers, also in terms of supplies and purchases. He believes good cooperation between all parties in the health care sector made a huge difference in the fight against the virus.

For the latest information on COVID-19, visit covid.is.