From Iceland — Iceland To Lift All Pandemic Restrictions Over Next Four Weeks

Iceland To Lift All Pandemic Restrictions Over Next Four Weeks

Published October 19, 2021

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
Art Bicnick

Following a government meeting held just moments ago, Minister of Health Svandís Svavarsdóttir announced that all pandemic restrictions will be lifted in two stages over the next four weeks.

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Starting at midnight tonight, all mask requirements will be lifted, and the social gathering limit will be raised from 500 people to 2,000 people. Nightclubs will also be open an hour later—i.e., until 1:00.

Four weeks from then, if all goes well, all pandemic restrictions will be lifted for the entire country.

No mention was made of border restrictions, so readers should assume that the same border regulations currently in place will continue to apply.

A large part of the reasoning for this was how well vaccinations have gone in Iceland. Currently, some 89% of the country aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated, and over 56,000 Icelanders have gotten booster shots as well.

As such, caution should still be exercised: locals are encouraged to get vaccinated if they have not already done so, and to get screened if they show any symptoms of being infected with the coronavirus.

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