Iceland: Government imposes new restrictions and calls for a third tranche

To address the record increase in Covid-19 cases, the Icelandic government today announced a series of measures, including a return to mandatory mask use in some areas and a reduction in the number of participants in public rallies.

The country’s chief epidemiologist also called for a third dose to all citizens over the age of 16 who have been fully vaccinated “for about six months”, in a country where 89% of the population over the age of 12 has been fully vaccinated .

“The situation today is such that the usefulness of a booster dose to boost the immunity of everyone and society as a whole has become very clear,” Torolfur Goodnason said in a press release.

In the last 24 hours, Iceland has registered 179 new infections, a record since the beginning of the pandemic, according to health authorities.

“It is inconvenient to see how steep the slope of the curve is and the increase is greater than we have ever seen before,” Health Minister Svadis Swavarsdottir told reporters after the cabinet meeting.

To reverse the curve of this new wave, the government decided to reinstate the one-meter social distance rule.

The use of the mask everywhere, where this distance can not be observed, especially in stores, becomes mandatory again from tomorrow Saturday.

The limit for participation in public gatherings is reduced from Wednesday to 500 people (compared to 2000 today), while bars and nightclubs should close two hours earlier than today, at 23:00.

The new restrictions will remain in effect for at least four weeks.

“The daily number of cases must be reduced to 40-50 and this situation must be maintained with restrictions until we achieve a better collective immunity thanks to booster doses and natural infections,” the health ministry said in a press release.

Iceland, with a population of 375,000, has a total of 14,255 cases of Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic and 34 deaths.

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ