Chief epidemiologist Þórólfur Guðnason has made several recommendations to Minister of Health Svandís Svavarsdóttir on the relaxation of some coronavirus restrictions, Vísir reports. These changes are to go into effect on January 13th.
The major details of these changes are as follows:
1. The gathering limit will be raised from 10 people to 20.
2. Shops may allow one customer for every 4m2, instead of five for every 10m2, although no more than 100 people maximum in any given shop.
3. Gyms can open again, but only for group sessions, with no more than 20 people in each group. Children born in 2005 or later will not be counted in the total.
4. Sports training, with or without contact, will be permitted for up to 50 people in a given space. Sporting events will be permitted, albeit without a physical audience present.
5. Where arts, cinema, and cultural events are concerned, up to 50 performers may be permitted, with up to 100 adults and 100 children born 2005 or later permitted in the audience. Masks and the two-metre distance rule must be observed.
Þórólfur added that these new relaxations will dependent upon stricter measures at the border, RÚV reports. 68 people have tested positive for the coronavirus during border screening since the beginning of this year. As such, these new relaxations carry with it the obligation for visitors to go into 14-day quarantine if they choose to forego border screening, and additional surveillance will be placed on locations where people are quarantined.
These new regulations will be in effect until February 17th, barring unforeseen circumstances. Where the restrictions that will remain are concerned, refer to the covid.is page on the matter, bearing in mind that it may take some time from the time of this writing for the page to be updated.
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