Covid-19 news.
The Government of Iceland has announced that it expects to start easing restrictions on international arrivals no later than June 15th 2020. It is expected that travelers will be given the choice between a test for the virus upon arrival or a two-week quarantine. A certificate of recent testing by an official in another county can also be presented if it is validated by the Icelandic government proving that they are free of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Please be advised that presenting a certificate upon arrival appears to be the easiest way to enter the country but test should be done less than 3 days before arrival.
Exact requirements are still being developed but travelers will likely be required to download and use the official tracing app already in use by 40% of the population in Iceland. The app has been developed following the strictest privacy standards, with location data only stored locally on the user's device unless released by owner for tracing purposes in case of an infection. This information has been used by the government tracking team to contact other people whose phones have been in the vicinity to an infected person so they can be quarantined.
Arrivals in Iceland that are tested at the airport by a team from the National Hospital of Iceland are expected to receive the results within 5 hours and or at latest the following morning. Arrivals will be allowed to travel to a local hotel or fishing lodge. At the lodge they shall stay isolated until they get the result of the test. They can go fishing but not be around or dine with the other anglers. If the outcome of the test turns out to be positive (an arrival in the country has got the virus) this person will be isolated possibly at the hotel they have booked or at a special quarantine hotel for 2 weeks. They will not be allowed to go back home immediately. If negative then free to go fishing and dining together with others.
Information regarding the app that arrivals will be asked to download to their mobile. The app collects the GPS location of the phone and stores it locally on the device. If the phone owner is diagnosed with the Covid-19 disease he or she will be asked by the Directorate of Health to share the location data for contact tracing in order to identify individuals that might need to go into quarantine. The authorities can’t get the information the app gathers without approval from the owner of the phone. The government encourages people to use this app because if a person turns out to be positive for COVID-19 the authorities can find out where the person has been and whom he or she has met. This app has turned out to be helpful and is a big part of the success of eliminating COVID-19 in Iceland up till now. When leaving Iceland, travelers can remove the app from their phone and no information will be stored.
Official app from the Icelandic Government to help mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic in Iceland Rakning C-19 is available for Android and iOS devices and is open to all:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=is.landlaeknir.rakning&hl=en
https://apps.apple.com/is/app/rakning-c-19/id1504655876
Final details on the easing of quarantine requirements for travelers will be announced by the end of May.
With only four infections confirmed in May, Icelandic authorities are keen to maintain the progress made so far in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. Testing and tracing measures for travellers will be frequently reviewed to ensure that the pandemic remains under control and all measures will take into account the status of the pandemic and travel restrictions in place in other countries.
Icelandic government website for information regarding Covid-19 pandemic appears in 9 languages and is updated regularly, please keep up with latest information here: https://www.covid.is/
