Slight ramping up of Covid-19 restrictions on the horizon

The Chief Epidemiologist of the Icelandic Directorate of Health is preparing to recommend to authorities that stricter measures be introduced on the Icelandic border to decrease the risk of travellers spreading the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Mbl.is reports that Dr. Þórólfur Guðnason intends to suggest that all foreign tourists – both vaccinated and unvaccinated – be required to show a negative PCR test on arrival in Iceland. He might also advise that Icelanders returning from abroad get re-tested on the border.

In an interview with Mbl.is Dr. Guðnason points out that the majority of new infections that have been detected recently can be traced to Icelanders traveling to Iceland from abroad and spreading the virus within their social circles.

Most of the recent Covid-19 infections have been detected in people who had already been fully vaccinated, and almost all of the new cases are of the Delta-variant which is known to spread more easily than earlier variants of the virus. ai@mbl.is