COVID-19 Claims More Lives

Since Friday, three people have died of COVID-19 in Iceland. Two deaths were reported yesterday and one today. Since the pandemic first hit, it has claimed 16 lives in Iceland.

Yesterday, 26 new domestic cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Iceland, according to covid.is. Sixteen of the people diagnosed were already in quarantine. At the border, six new cases were confirmed, three of them during second testing, that is, four to five days after the people entered the country.

There are currently 905 active cases of the disease in Iceland. Seventy-two COVID-19 patients are in the hospital, three of them in intensive care and one of those on a ventilator. Of the 72 patients, four are in Akureyri Hospital, but none of them is seriously ill, mbl.is reports.

The COVID-19 situation in North Iceland is getting worse, with active cases in that part of the country counting 103. The 14-day incidence per 100,000 inhabitants in Iceland stands at 221.5.

The regulation issued by the minister of health Friday has since been amended and now exempts children born 2011 or later from wearing a face mask. Another amendment states that all gaming machines must be closed.

A new regulation regarding school operations was issued late last night. It takes effect tomorrow, Tuesday. Disease prevention measures will be stricter than before in schools, but access to education for children and young people will be ensured.

School buildings will be divided into separate areas, and older students must wear face masks in grade schools when the 2-meter social distancing rule cannot be respected. 

In secondary schools and universities, the 10-person maximum rule applies, as well as the mandatory use of face masks. Freshmen in secondary schools are, however, permitted to be in groups of up to 25 in each classroom.