Travelers who arrive in Iceland and choose to be tested for COVID-19 at the airport, rather than going into 14-day quarantine, will have to pay 15,000 ÍSK to get tested starting July 1st, Vísir reports.
This was announced by the Ministry of Health, which has stated further that the tests will start on June 15th and will be free the first two weeks.
Although the matter was debated during a government meeting this morning, it was decided that children born in 2005 or later will not have to get tested.
Economic arguments
The announcement says, “as was stated in the last government meeting, due to economic arguments it would stand to reason that tourists should pay for their own tests. It is now clear that international health regulations will not stand in the way of such charges, as long as the testing is optional and announced with reasonable notice.
The fee, which will be collected from July 1st on, is based on government analysis of direct costs minus initial costs. These figures were featured in a report on COVID-19 border sampling policy, presented on May 26th.
It was stated during the government press conference on May 12th that, at least at first, while this measure is being implemented and potential difficulties are being sorted out, it would be right for the tests to be free of charge.
Legal authority to charge fees for border testing is included in legislation regarding health insurance, and the Ministry of Health will issue an official statement on the fees and other issues relating to the border testing in the coming days.”
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