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deCODE Rejoins Border Screening Initiative To Relieve Pressure On Landspítali
Icelandic genetic research company, deCODE will once again begin assisting the health authorities with analysis of COVID-19 samples taken from travellers at the border, Visir reports. In recent days, passenger numbers have strained Landspítali’s testing capacity. Over 2,100 passengers were screened yesterday,…
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COVID-19 In Iceland: Tougher Rules Expected, Kári Stefánsson Issues Warning
The Icelandic Government and health authorities are considering reimposing tougher COVID-19 restrictions amidst a spike in the number of domestic infections. Chief Epidemiologist Þórólfur Guðnason is expected to deliver a new set of proposals to the Health Minister Svandís Svavarsdóttir later today.…
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COVID-19 Border Screenings One Month On: More Uncertainty, New Rules For Icelanders
The COVID-19 border screening programme has been running for just short of a month. The first weeks of the initiative have been a little rocky; political disputes and group infections have prompted some major changes. But for the most part infection rates…
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Memorial Proposed To Honour Hans Jónatan, Iceland’s First Black Settler
A proposal to erect a memorial to Hans Jónatan, the first known Black settler in Iceland, has been presented to Parliament. Vilhjálmur Bjarnason of the conservative Independence Party put forward a bill to construct a memorial in Djúpivogur to Hans Jónatan, a Black…
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Icelanders’ White Blood Cells Flown To Canada For COVID-19 Treatment Research
White blood cells from six Icelanders with high levels of COVID-19 antibodies have been flown to Canada for use in a project developing a treatment for the coronavirus, RÚV reports. Over the weekend, three Icelanders’ white blood cells were flown to a…
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COVID-19 Tourist Tests: Epidemiologist’s Proposal Approved, Economic Analysis
Chief Epidemiologist Þórólfur Guðnason’s recommendations for offering COVID-19 tests to tourists have been accepted by the Health Minister, Svandís Svavarsdóttir. From June 15th, tourists will be able to provide a health certificate or opt for a coronavirus screening at Keflavik airport, instead…
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Antibody Testing Suggests 55,000 Icelanders Exposed To COVID-19
The results of antibody screenings suggest that 55,000 Icelanders have been exposed to the virus, deCODE CEO Kári Stefánsson revealed in an educational conference yesterday. COVID-19 antibodies have been found in 0.9% of Icelanders who have not been quarantined or recovered from…
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COVID-19 In Iceland: 14-Day Quarantine For Tourists, Antibody Tests Increased
New Quarantine Travel Rules The Icelandic government has accepted the recommendations of the Chief Epidemiologist, Þórólfur Guðnason to introduce stricter quarantine requirements for people entering Iceland. From Friday April 24th, everyone arriving in Iceland, including tourists, will be required to complete a…
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COVID-19 Antibody Tests May Reveal Likelihood Of Second Wave In Iceland
Dr. Kári Stefánsson, CEO of deCODE Genetics, has announced that the company has started screening Icelanders for COVID-19 antibodies. The new tests could provide invaluable information about the true extent of the spread of the virus in Iceland and the likelihood of…
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Latest deCODE Data Showcased In New England Journal Of Medicine
The most recent COVID-19 research paper produced by Icelandic firm, deCODE Genetics, has been published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. The analysis of data collected from Icelanders screened at the company’s drive-through screenings and by the Directorate of Health…
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Testing Times: Kári Stefánsson On deCODE’s COVID-19 Screening Programme
As the rampant spread of COVID-19 outpaces testing capabilities the world over, even superpower nations are left guessing at infection rates and scrambling to test indispensable healthcare workers. Mercifully, it’s an entirely different story here in Iceland. Boasting more than 18,000 COVID-19…
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COVID-19 Round Up: Drop In Infections, Tourist Policy To Be Reconsidered
Significant Drop In New Cases As of midnight last night, there are 1,586 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Iceland, just 24 more than yesterday. On 5th April there were 74 new cases and 70 were recorded on 4th April. Speaking in today’s press…
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COVID-19 Update: 2 More Deaths, Half Of Cases Asymptomatic
A round up of the weekend’s COVID-19 developments in Iceland including two new deaths, the results of random sampling, and Icelanders’ level of confidence in the government. Bridge star dies Sigurður Sverrisson, a renowned Icelandic bridge player, has become the fifth person…
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Random Sampling Reveals 0.6% Of Icelanders Infected With COVID-19
Random sampling carried out by deCODE has shown that the COVID-19 incidence in the general population in Iceland is 0.6%, mbl reports. According to deCODE, 13 of the 2,300 people selected at random from the capital area tested positive positive for COVID-19.…
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Huge Breakthrough In Search For COVID-19 Testing Swabs
6,000 nasal swabs required for COVID-19 screenings have been discovered at Landspítali hospital. This is a huge breakthrough as Iceland has been experiencing severe difficulties obtaining swabs in recent days. Speaking to Morgunblaðið, the head physician at the hopsital’s department of medical…
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COVID-19 Screening Swab Shortage Continues
20,000 nasal swabs provided by Icelandic manufacturer Össur have been declared unfit for use in COVID-19 testing, RÚV reports. This comes as a blow to deCODE and the National University Hospital as both are struggling to source the swabs required in coronavirus…
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Patient Infected With Two Strains of COVID-19 In Iceland
It’s been confirmed that an individual who tested positive for COVID-19 in Iceland has been infected by two strains of the virus simultaneously. The second strain is a mutation of the original novel coronavirus. It is thought that this could be the…
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Kári Stefánsson Slams Data Protection Authority For Weekend Inaction
Over the weekend deCODE CEO, Kári Stefánsson took to Facebook to air his grievances with the Icelandic Data Protection Authority. In a lengthy tirade, he berated officials for taking the weekend off whilst deCODE’s application to release new COVID-19 research was being…
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COVID-19 In Iceland: deCODE Genetics Will Screen General Population For Virus
CEO of deCODE Genetics Kári Stefánsson (shown above) intends to screen the entire Icelandic population for COVID-19, of which there have been 60 confirmed cases at the time of this writing. While almost all of these cases come from three flights returning…
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15-20 Thousand Icelanders Habitual Cannabis Users
Around 15-20 thousand Icelanders, or around 5.2% of the total population, use cannabis regularly, according to Helgi Gunnlaugsson, a professor from the University of Iceland, who researches cannabis use. This was among topics discussed at a conference hosted by SÁÁ, the National…
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Kári Apologises For Calling PM “Obese, Two-Year-Old Little Boy”
CEO of deCODE Kári Stefánsson has apologised for remarks he made about the Prime Minister in a new Grapevine interview. In an interview in the latest issue of the Reykjavík Grapevine, Kári spoke candidly about the state of the Icelandic health care…
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Can A Geneticist Save Iceland’s Healthcare?
After weeks of treatment, targeted zapping of cancerous cells, and immune crushing medicine, you need verify the status of your cancer. Has it shrunk? Have the cells been eradicated—leaving only scar tissue behind? Has the treatment been effective or do you need…
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DeCODE CEO Makes Good On Threat
The petition Kári Stefánsson threatened to start if the government did not step up health care funding is now underway. The petition in question, Endurreisn (“Restoration”), points out that the Icelandic government devotes proportionately far less money to the health care system…