From Iceland — Chief Of Police Finds People's Views On Border Control To Be Wild

Chief Of Police Finds People’s Views On Border Control To Be Wild

Published April 14, 2021

Photo by
Vísir/Vilhelm

Víðir Reynisson, chief of police at the National Commissioner of Police’s Civil Protection Department, appeared on RÚV’s television show Kastljósið last night where he stated that he believed the new regulations to be sensible and that people often have wild views on the border rules.

The current border rules state that all passengers have to quarantine, except for those who have a certificate of vaccination or a previous infection.

Many have called for even stricter rules and even for the borders to be closed.

Agree to disagree

Víðir said: “I often find this discussion about the border a bit wild, when people are calling for the border to be closed, what does that mean? I do not quite see how it is.”

“We need to keep the border open as we need people in the country who have expertise,” he continued. “We need goods in the country, and of course tourism is also an industry that is seeing some light now, but I just think the actions we have taken at the border are sensible.”

The rules must benefit everyone

Despite the fact that infection has been detected domestically based on border infections, Víðir says that the current system catches most people and that despite the fact that the borders have not been closed, they are making them as safe as possible.

“It is very important that people take a deep breath and look at it only in real life and see how best to do it. I have not heard anyone in the government say that we are going to endanger the lives and health of the public with the opening of the border, everyone is talking about the need to make sensible decisions, based on the domestic situation and based on the situation in the countries that our guests are coming from,” says the chief of police.

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