Chief Epidemiologist Urges Caution Despite Promising Coronavirus Numbers

Even though the latest cases over the weekend—wherein only 10 people over the past three days were diagnosed with coronavirus, all of them in quarantine at the time—are certainly encouraging, chief epidemiologist Þórólfur Guðnason wants the public to remember that the virus is still very much among us, Vísir reports.

“The virus is still there,” he told reporters at a press conference today. “It hasn’t gone anywhere. We know that the incubation period is so long, where a week can go by from the time someone gets the virus until they become ill. There are those with few to no symptoms, so it could crop up again. But this is a good situation as it is now.”

That said, the government’s vaccination drive has recently shifted into high gear.

Roughly 10% of the country is now fully vaccinated, and Vísir reports that some 10,000 people are supposed to get the Pfizer vaccine tomorrow, and another 6,000 to receive the single-dose vaccine from Janssen on Wednesday.

Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.

You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.

Also you can get regular news from Iceland—including the latest notifications on eruptions, as soon as they happen—by signing up to our newsletter.