Iceland lifts all COVID-19 restrictions

After 15 months of alternatively strengthened or milder measures, Iceland announced on Friday that it was lifting all national sanctions linked to the COVID-19 epidemic, thanks to the progress of the vaccine in its territory.

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“It’s a little weird feeling, after being in front of you here or somewhere else to announce tough measures, but today is the day we (them) are going to lift,” said Prime Minister Katrin. Jacobsdatir press conference on this occasion.

Avoid the rule, wear a mask, measure outdoor meetings or limit the opening hours of bars and restaurants: these measures will not take effect from Saturday, June 26th.

“In fact, we are reviving the society we are accustomed to living in and we want to,” Health Minister Swandas Schwarzenegger was quoted as saying in a press release since the first sanctions took effect on the North Atlantic island on March 16, 2020.

The decision, the first of its kind in Europe, was taken according to a four-step timetable to lift restrictions on Icelandic territory.

Launched in late April, it provided for the abolition of all national measures in the second half of June “75% of the population (those over 16, editor note) receive at least one dose of the vaccine”.

As of June 24, 87.6% of this age group, 295,000 people under the age of 16, and approximately 365,000 of the total population had received at least one dose of the vaccine in Iceland.

However, restrictions are in place at the borders, especially with the mandatory performance of a negative PCR test on traffic, another double PCR test after five days of loneliness for unsuspecting passengers.

Passengers with a vaccination certificate or previous infection with COVID-19 will have to be tested once upon arrival in Iceland, with the exception from July 1.

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