Author: Poppy Askham - The Reykjavik Grapevine

Author: Poppy Askham

Healthcare Workers Receive Skincare Gift

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Icelandic company ORF Genetics has donated skincare products to healthcare workers to help reduce the negative impact personal protective equipment…

Rate of Employment Plummeting In Iceland Due To COVID-19

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Employment rates in Iceland have fallen dramatically as the economic impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic begin to be felt by…

COVID-19 Tracking App Launches Today

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An app that tracks potential COVID-19 infections in Iceland is being launched today, Fréttablaðið reports. It will use GPS to…

Icelandic Government Passes 26 Billion ISK COVID-19 Action Package

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Last night, the Icelandic Parliament approved an investment programme costing almost 26 billion ISK designed to tackle the COVID-19 epidemic…

Strætó Reduces Bus Journeys Due To Covid-19

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Strætó has announced new changes to its bus service in response to the worsening COVID-19 outbreak in Iceland. These changes…

Iceland Expects Huge Shipment Of Anti-Malarial Drug To Fight COVID-19

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A shipment of 50,000 packages of the anti-malarial drug Hydroxchloroquine is expected to arrive in Iceland this weekend, RÚV reports….

Icelanders Offer Sick Farmers A Helping Hand

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Almost 100 Icelanders have volunteered to help out farmers affected by COVID-19, Visir reports. Volunteers will provide manual labour to…

EasyJet Grounds Entire Fleet Due To COVID-19

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British budget airline, EasyJet has announced their decision to cancel all scheduled flights indefinitely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic….

It’s Time To Embrace Ugly Haircuts For The Greater Good

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“We just have to have an ugly haircut for the next few weeks. We have to live with it.” Víðir…

Almost 10,000 Sign Up For Reduced Employment Benefit On The First Day

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The Icelandic Labour Department received 9,670 application for reduced rate of employment benefits by 14:00 yesterday, the day registration opened,…

The Blue Lagoon Lays Off 164 Workers Due To COVID-19

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164 Blue Lagoon workers have been laid off as the company deals with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 outbreak…

Huge Breakthrough In Search For COVID-19 Testing Swabs

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6,000 nasal swabs required for COVID-19 screenings have been discovered at Landspítali hospital. This is a huge breakthrough as Iceland…

COVID-19 Screening Swab Shortage Continues

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20,000 nasal swabs provided by Icelandic manufacturer Össur have been declared unfit for use in COVID-19 testing, RÚV reports. This…

Icelandic Olympian Speaks Out About Coronavirus Shame

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Icelandic Olympian pole vaulter, Þórey Edda Elísdóttir, opened up in an interview with Vísir yesterday about the shame she experienced…

COVID-19 Tracking App In Development

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Officials are developing an app that will help to track potential COVID-19 infections. The app will use GPS to locate…

Sportacus Offers Words Of Hope To Icelanders

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Magnús Scheving, perhaps better known as Sportacus from the Icelandic children’s TV show, Lazy Town, has offered his insight into…

Patient Infected With Two Strains of COVID-19 In Iceland

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It’s been confirmed that an individual who tested positive for COVID-19 in Iceland has been infected by two strains of…

Changes to Strætó Services Due To COVID-19

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The Strætó bus service has announced new measures to keep both drivers and passengers safe during the COVID-19 outbreak. Passengers…

COVID-19 Update: 588 Cases, Iceland Steps Up Response, MP Infected

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As the government continues to ramp up its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, here are the latest developments in the…

Kári Stefánsson Slams Data Protection Authority For Weekend Inaction

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Over the weekend deCODE CEO, Kári Stefánsson took to Facebook to air his grievances with the Icelandic Data Protection Authority….

Wind, Snow, Rain And Yellow Warnings? It Must Be Spring

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It’s looking like the perfect weather for a quarantine this weekend. Following this week’s arrival of the harbinger of spring,…

Cement Truck Thief’s Crime Spree Continues

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The man who stole a cement mixing truck from a building site last week and took it for a joyride…

COVID-19 In Iceland: Parliament Scraps Schedule, 1,000 Infections Predicted

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New Plan for the Alþingi From now until 20th April the Icelandic Parliament will only address matters directly concerning the…

COVID-19 In Iceland: 330 Cases, Quarantine For All Returning Icelanders

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Today is Thursday, March 19th, and here are the most recent COVID-19 updates in Iceland. New quarantine measures As of…

Icelanders Send Condolences To Australian COVID-19 Widow

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Following yesterday’s tragic announcement that Iceland had sustained its first suspected COVID-19 fatality, a Facebook page has been created to…