Fourth Domestic COVID-19 Infection Since Mid-May, Possible Group Infection

The fourth domestic COVID-19 infection in Iceland since mid-May has been detected (updated figure – see note). The individual, an employee of the Ministry of Fisheries and Industry, is believed to have caught the coronavirus from a top-league Icelandic footballer who had recently returned home from the United States, MBL reports.

Around 70 people have been quarantined in connection with the two confirmed cases and the infection tracking team is in contact with about 200 individuals, according to a statement from the Civil Protection Agency. The Minister of Fisheries and Industry, Kristján Þór Júlíusson and 15 ministry employees are among those in quarantine.

The footballer who has now tested positive for COVID-19, returned to Iceland from the United States on June 17th. She initially tested negative for the virus at the airport, but when it emerged that an individual she had been in contact with in the US had been diagnosed with the virus, she went for a second test despite not displaying symptoms. Police official Víðir Reynisson stressed that she has acted responsibly and aided the infection tracking team in its efforts to trace possible contacts.

Police are treating the cases as a potential group infection. Health authorities intend to employ similar measures to those used to tackle COVID-19 clusters in Bolungarvík and the Westman Islands.

Unusually, due to the special circumstances of the case, many of the people who have been quarantined in connection with the two cases are being screened for the virus, starting with those who had earliest contact with the football player.

This article was updated at 18:17 – it was previously reported that this was the first domestic infection since mid-May, but a mistake had been made in the civil protection agency’s statement and this is in fact the fourth domestic infection since mid-May.

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