COVID Roundup: Health Minister May Lift All Border Restrictions In Next Few Days

Minister of Health Willum Þór Þorsson may lift all coronavirus restrictions within the next few days, RÚV reports, as he believes the number of infections detected in people coming to Iceland has been low.

We have been having some awful weather here as of late, so we’re specially grateful for our comfy traditional lopapeysa sweaters, the beautiful woolen garments which have been keeping Icelanders warm for generations. They’re available in our shop, and ours are hand-knitted right here in Iceland.

According to data available on covid.is, infections at the border were markedly different in 2021 from what they have been so far this year. The greatest spike last year, reported on December 31st, was 126; so far in 2022, the greatest spike was 314, reported on January 5th. Overall, 2022 has seen the year break 2021’s record ten times, most recently the day before yesterday.

The news comes in the wake of yesterday’s announcement that all domestic pandemic restrictions would be lifted by February 25th, possibly sooner. Border restrictions will be lifted at some point within the next few days, or at the latest, before the end of the month.

Where daily numbers are concerned, there were 2,489 recorded domestic cases of the coronavirus in Iceland yesterday, with an additional 106 reported cases at the border.

201 are in border screening quarantine, with 10,433 in isolation. There are currently 54 people in hospital with the coronavirus and three in intensive care.

288,150 people aged five and older have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as of February 16th, comprising 81% of this age group, or 78% of the total population. 201,507 have also received booster shots.

Getting a booster shot is a very straightforward process, with no barcode required. More information on that can be found here. For your first and second vaccination, you can sign up here.

As always, be sure to abide the domestic restrictions and border regulations.

More information can be found at covid.is/data and, in Icelandic, below. Bear in mind that it may take some time for daily figures to be updated in languages other than Icelandic.