From Iceland — COVID-19 In Iceland: Pools & Cinemas To Re-Open; Last Daily Conference Gets Record Viewers

COVID-19 In Iceland: Pools & Cinemas To Re-Open; Last Daily Conference Gets Record Viewers

Published May 5, 2020

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
Art Bicnick

There are currently only 56 active coronavirus infections in Iceland, with 1,733 having made a full recovery. 56 people are in isolation, 750 are in quarantine, and three are still hospitalised. In all, 51,345 samples for testing have been taken to date.

As reported, some social restrictions that were put in place near the beginning of the outbreak were relaxed yesterday. Icelandic society will be opening up a bit more in the weeks to come as well, as public pools—beloved by Icelanders of all ages—will likely open again on May 18th, albeit with some conditions. This will likely entail capacity limits and the continuation of the two-metre rule.

Furthermore, some cinemas are opening again, RÚV reports. The cinemas of Laugarásbió and Smárabíó are open, as is Borgarbíó in Akureyri. The Álfabakki cinema is also open, and while other Sambíó cinemas have been closed, they are set to open soon. Bíó Paradís, unfortunately, will remain closed.

In other signs that Iceland is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, yesterday was the last of the daily press conferences on the COVID-19 situation. RÚV reports that this conference, which is broadcast live across all major channels, was watched by 75.5% of Icelanders aged 12 to 80.

These conferences will still be held, although not daily. The next such conference will be held tomorrow, with another on Friday.

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