New Rules Regarding Quarantine in Iceland
Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir. mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
At a press conference yesterday, the Icelandic government announced that no later than June 15, its goal is to give tourists and Icelanders arriving in the country three choices:
- staying in quarantine for 14 days
- being screened for the novel coronavirus at Keflavík International Airport
- or presenting a certificate of recent screening, approved by Icelandic health authorities
Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir added that enacting this new policy is dependent upon everything working according to plan.
She noted that such widespread screening of people arriving in the country would offer a chance to study the novel coronavirus and its spread further.
It is unclear whether the screening process would be paid for by the Icelandic State or by the tourists themselves. After two weeks of screening, the situation will be reassessed.
After being screened at the airport, arriving passengers will go to their overnight accommodations, where they await the results.
In addition, every arriving passenger will be asked to download the COVID-19 tracing app, Rakning C-19, which helps authorities trace the origin of transmissions. Other requirements will have to be met, which health authorities will present in detail later.
New rules regarding quarantine will take effect May 15. They involve the so-called quarantine B, which will be expanded to include everyone arriving in Iceland to work on specific projects, such as scientists, film crews, news reporters and sports teams. Quarantine B generally means that people are allowed to go to work, but must otherwise follow regular quarantine rules.
As of May 15, Greenland and the Faroe Islands will no longer be listed as high-risk areas for COVID-19.
