US Removes Iceland From The Red List

Iceland has been removed from the United States’ Red List yesterday, reports RÚV. Travelers are no longer advised not to travel to the country.

As the Icelandic winter draws in we’re reaching for our comfy traditional lopapeysa sweaters, the beautiful woollen garments which have been keeping Icelanders warm for generations. They’re available for international delivery through our online shop, and ours are hand-knitted right here in Iceland from local wool.

The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) raised its risk assessment for Iceland on August 9th due to increased number of coronavirus infections in the country, and US residents were advised to not travel to Iceland. Even though the number of infections has since decreased significantly, Iceland has been in the highest risk category of the CDC for a few weeks.

Out of four risk category levels, Iceland is in the third level after the reassessment. This means that the residents of the US are encouraged to reconsider traveling to Iceland, but the report states that the risk of infection is lower if the travelers are vaccinated.

The chairman of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association, Bjarnheiður Hallsdóttir, believes that the reassessment will increase tourism form the US to Iceland. “Every rule that is relaxed or removed is naturally a positive change,” she comments, although she reminds that Iceland still has strict restrictions at the border.