Stricter Border Measures in Iceland As of April 1

The quarantine facility on Rauðarárstígur, Reykjavík.

The quarantine facility on Rauðarárstígur, Reykjavík.

Vala Hafstað

Stricter rules will take effect at Icelandic borders April 1 and remain in effect through the end of April.

According to the government website , the new rules are as follows:

“Children, who have been exempt from border measures until now, will be tested and required to quarantine (with some exceptions, see below). Travelers who have stayed in dark-red areas in the previous 14 days, [as classified by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, that is, where the 14-day incidence rate exceeds 500 or insufficient data is available], will be required to stay in quarantine facilities for the duration of the 5 day quarantine between tests. In case of a positive test, travelers will be required to stay in isolation in managed quarantine facilities.”

Gylfi Þór Þorsteinsson.

Gylfi Þór Þorsteinsson. Photo/Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management

The exceptions mentioned regard children born in 2005 or later:

“In case of a positive test, they will be required to stay in isolation. Otherwise they would only need to quarantine  if they are travelling with parents or guardians who are required to quarantine.”

For further details, see here .

The new rules are expected to result in a substantial increase in the number of people staying at quarantine facilities, beginning April 1. Several hundred additional travelers will have to be accommodated at such facilities, mbl.is reports.

So far, the Red Cross has operated such facilities in Iceland. At present, only one quarantine facility is in operation, on Rauðarárstígur, Reykjavík, but since the pandemic began, they have been as many as five – three in the capital area, one in Akureyri, North Iceland, and one in Egilsstaðir, East Iceland.

“We’re still looking for good facilities, and it will likely be clear tomorrow which hotel we will use,” Gylfi Þór Þorsteinsson, director of the quarantine facilities, told mbl.is last night.

“I assume we’ll need more than one hotel, even more than two,” he adds, explaining that on board each airplane, there can be as many as 150 to 200 people.

“It all depends on the Icelandic Health Insurance, since they’re in charge of negotiating the rent,” he concludes.

UPDATE March 31: Please see the latest amendments to the rules on the government website .

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