Changes To Border Policy On The Horizon

Chief epidemiologist Þórólfur Guðnason has submitted a number of recommendations to the Ministry of Health for changing the rules and requirements for those coming to Iceland, Vísir reports.

These recommendations are not only due to the especially contagious variety of the coronavirus that has cropped up in the UK and has spread to other European countries, but also due to the rising incidence of people testing positive for the virus at Iceland’s border screening.

The draft of the recommendations that Þórólfur has submitted would, if passed, require visitors to Iceland to present certified negative test results from their home countries. These test results will have to be no more than 48 hours old. As always, visitors will still have to choose between either a 14-day quarantine, or to be tested twice, while staying in isolation between tests.

“This is what’s happening pretty much everywhere in Europe,” Þórólfur told reporters. “All other countries are raising such proposals, and I think it’s just wise in light of the increase [of incidence] that we’re seeing abroad and at the border. The more people who come to the border now, the more likely it will be that something slips through.”

The Minister is expected to decide on the matter soon.

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