Iceland Tests 5,500 Travellers at Its Borders, Only Two Result in Active Cases
A total of 5,500 travellers have been tested for Coronavirus upon their arrival in Iceland since the country began the screening process at its borders one week ago.
From 5,500 tests, 11 of them have tested positive, and only two of those were active cases requiring isolation, Iceland’s Chief Epidemiologist Þórólfur Guðnason announced during a briefing held in Reykjavík,
A total of 900 persons arrived at Iceland’s international airport on the very first day that the country opened for travellers from the EU, though it was estimated that it would welcome nearly 650 persons per day.
On the same day that the country started official screenings at Keflavik International Airport, long waits were reported due to different procedures of some airlines. While some airlines, such as Icelandairs encouraged their passengers to fill out the form for border screening early, others waited until landing at the airport.
Iceland’s government previously announced that passengers arriving in the country from June 15 would be able to choose whether they want to be tested for Coronavirus or to quarantine for two weeks.
The government also clarified that the two first weeks, those who choose to take the test would not be charged. Yet, starting from next mid-week, July 1, passengers will need to pay ISK 15,000 for a single test. Children born in 2005 or later will not need to test or go through the quarantine.
Last month, Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir introduced several changes which have been applied to the travel restrictions, as part of country’s plan to ease some of its preventive measures that have been imposed to stop the spread of Coronavirus pandemic.
Iceland’s Prime Minister and her cabinet ministers have decided that internationals who aren’t part of the Schengen Zone are ineligible to visit Iceland at least until July 1. At the same time, Schengen Zone citizens must go through a mandatory quarantine or take the test to be eligible to enter Iceland.
