Þórólfur Guðnason, the chief epidemiologist, submitted two memoranda to Svandís Svavarsdóttir, the Minister of Health, this weekend; the contents of which were based on easing restrictions domestically.
In an interview on Í bítinu á Bylgjan this morning, the epidemiologist stated that one memorandum deals with public gathering restrictions whilst the other outlines new general measures.
The current regulations on schools expires on March 1st.
A typical Þórólfur response.
When asked for more details about the restrictions, Þórólfur was keen to not give out too much information so that Svandís would have more space to review the measures.
“We are relaxing and we have done extremely well,” he said. “Last week we had two infections domestically and both were quarantined during the diagnosis so this is going very well.”
Preventing leaks by tightening the border.
Þórólfur told Bylgjan that by tightening the restrictions at the border, there would be room for some relaxation for those living in the country.
“There are all the prerequisites for relaxing… If we work hard, we will have to deal with this,” says Þórólfur.
The epidemiologist was clear in stating that the final decision on when and if the measures would take place was down to the Minister herself.
He does however believe that the relaxations may come rather soon.
A great deal of doses.
Þórólfur was also asked about the development of the vaccination process as the country has just received 90,000 doses of the vaccine.
With this many doses, around 45,000 people would be able to receive the vaccine.
Þórólfur said that our best plan was to achieve good long-term protection against the virus and said that there was a lot of speculation about when it would be best to give the second dose.
The Icelandic government’s vaccination calendar, made public last Friday, details the tentative plans for who gets the vaccine when. As can be seen, the plan prioritises frontline health care workers, the elderly, those with underlying conditions, teachers, and those working in social services. Many of these are already completed, with vaccinations scheduled to continue through late June.
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