COVID Roundup: 126 Domestic Cases, Bill Would Make Chief Epidemiologist Political Appointment

COVID Roundup: 126 Domestic Cases, Bill Would Make Chief Epidemiologist Political Appointment

Published December 3, 2021

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
John Pearson

There were 126 recorded domestic cases of the coronavirus in Iceland yesterday, plus an additional nine at the border. Of yesterday’s domestic cases, 56 were outside quarantine at diagnosis.

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Following yesterday’s news of the first confirmed case of the Omicron variant in Iceland, the pharmacology department at the hospital in Akranes is now in quarantine, RÚV reports. It is very likely that more Omicron cases will soon emerge.

Vísir reports that a new bill would, if passed, make the position of Chief Epidemiologist appointable by the Minister of Health. As it is now, this position is appointed by the Medical Director of Health. In addition, an appointed committee would also work on pandemic restriction recommendations, rather than that being solely the task of the Chief Epidemiologist. The bill is, however, still in the drafting stages and has not yet been submitted; further changes may yet be made to it.

Where other data is concerned, 160 are in border screening quarantine, with 1,943 in domestic quarantine and 1,577 in isolation. 23 are currently in hospital with the virus, with four in intensive care.

All this being the case, the domestic 14-day incidence per 100,000 inhabitants is 488.4, and the 14-day incidence at the border per 100,000 inhabitants is 28.1.

281,402 have been vaccinated against the coronavirus as of December 3rd, comprising 90% of those aged 12 and older. 113,677 have also received booster shots, while 39,396 have received an additional Jansen dose.

To sign up for a booster shot, you can visit vaccine.covid.is. More information on booster vaccination hours and locations can be found here.

As always, be sure to abide the domestic restrictions and border regulations. As reported, the Omicron variant has been detected in Iceland, so these regulations are subject to change.

More statistics and information can be found at covid.is or below.

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