These are the new Covid-19 rules for residents arriving in Iceland
A Covid-19 positive test will result in a quarantine. The first five days in Iceland residents and Icelandic nationals are asked to take special precautions. Eggert Jóhannesson
New guidelines came into effect on Monday regarding Covid-19 testing, requiring that people who reside in Iceland and all Icelandic nationals returning to Iceland practise what authorities call “heimkomusmitgát”, which translates as “homecoming-infection-precaution”.
For their first four or five days in Iceland these individuals must not attend gatherings of more than ten people and not mingle with persons who belong to at-risk groups such as the elderly or people with cardiovascular disease, cancer or chronic renal insufficiency. They should also adhere to the two metre distancing rule when interacting with others, not give handshakes and avoid hugs, as well as take reasonable precautions to minimize the risk of transmitting the virus to others.
During the four or five day precautionary period residents in Iceland and Icelandic nationals are allowed to use public transportation to get to their final destination in the country, drive or be a passenger in a car, visit shops, as well as meet friends and relatives so long as the above-mentioned guidelines are respected.
A test for Covid-19 markers is performed at the border and again four or five days after arrival. The first test is done at the individual’s expense but the second test is free. If the latter test shows no trace of Covid-19 the precautionary period is over, but should a test result be Covid-19 positive the affected individual must be quarantined.
Although these rules apply only to Icelandic nationals and foreign nationals resident in the country local health authorities encourage accompanying family members or visitors who have an extensive network of friends and family in Iceland to take the same precautions.
