Dozens of people who landed at Keflavík International Airport yesterday were apparently unaware of the new border restrictions which went into effect at midnight, August 19th, RÚV reports.
The new regulations, which can be read in English here, stipulate that all arrivals—regardless of country of origin—must be screened for the coronavirus, go into quarantine at any of the many hotels and guesthouses outfitted for quarantine, and then be tested again some five days later.
Despite the fact that this situation has been reported on extensively in English, by The Grapevine and others, not everyone was aware of the new restrictions.
“People don’t know the rules,” border screening project manager Jórlaug Heimisdóttir told reporters. “They don’t know that they’re on their way into a five-day quarantine. A very strict quarantine and much stricter than before. We’ve tried to find other possible solutions rather than turn people back and some people showed interest in that.”
The airport was quite empty at the time of the reporting, with eight flights cancelled, but about 1,500 people were screened.
While Jórlaug said Icelandic authorities had done a good job in getting out the word about the new restrictions, “We know how it is. People don’t always read the instructions they’re given.”
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