From Iceland — Iceland Is Green Again

Iceland Is Green Again

Published May 14, 2021

Alina Maurer
Photo by
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

Iceland has finally turned green again, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. This means that the incidence of infection with COVID-19 has fallen below 25 per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks, and that the test positivity rate is below 4%.

The only green country in Europe

Iceland is now the only whole country in Europe defined as green, but large areas in Finland and Norway are also considered green. The Faroe Islands and Greenland are not included in these figures, as they are both considered safe countries by the authorities and their inhabitants are exempt from disease control measures upon arrival in Iceland.

Iceland had been green for some time but turned orange again in April when the number of infections increased, due to a new outbreak. The British coronavirus variant had spread and domestic and border restrictions had been tightened once more.

Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.

You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.

Also you can get regular news from Iceland—including the latest notifications on eruptions, as soon as they happen—by signing up to our newsletter.

Support The Reykjavík Grapevine!
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!

Show Me More!