Samples Analysed From Six In The Morning Well Into The Night

A large group of people are working on screening tests of newly arrived passengers at the borders according to chief of police Víðir Reynisson, Morgunblaðið reports. He holds the staff members of deCODE Genetics who come to work at 6:00 and analyze samples until 2:00 or even 3:00 in the morning the next day so that everything can work as a shining example.

“We are always learning new things, and then revising and improving [our techniques] the next day. Right now things are going well for us, but we have a tremendous amount of work to do,” says Víðir.

The number of passengers arriving at Keflavík International Airport has been increasing since the new rules for people coming to Iceland took effect on Monday, with people now having the choice between either getting tested or going into two-week quarantine after arrival. When asked whether the number of passengers arriving is manageable, Víðir says:

“We still have a lot to do in terms of refining the process and seeing how things evolve, but our goal is to analyze up to 2,000 tests a day. It seems like we will definitely be able to reach that goal, and even surpass it. It will only become evident as the week progresses.”

Those Sitting Near The Infected On Flights Will Go Into Quarantine

Twenty-two people had to go into quarantine because of passengers flying to Keflavík who had gotten infected. When asked why this was and whether the proper physical distance had not been observed on the flight, Víðir says:

“This is simply based upon the rules of proximity on aircraft. Those sitting the closest to the [infected] person on the flight will have to go into quarantine. Now that it has become necessary for passengers to wear masks, we have asked the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for new instructions on how to arrange things. We are still waiting for a conclusion on that front.”

When asked, Víðir said that no serious issues arose from the obligation to wear masks.

“We haven’t heard of anything causing major problems. Sometimes people don’t wear masks, but when the need is highlighted, people oblige.”

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