Iceland, up to now one of the countries to have fared
better against the coronavirus, has announced a tightening of
restrictions after a spike in new cases since the middle of last
month.
The health ministry said late Saturday that starting from
Monday, most sports facilities, bars and discotheques will be
closed while gatherings will be limited to a maximum of 20
people.
Supermarkets will be allowed up to 100 customers while swimming
pools must operate at only 50 per cent of capacity.
These restrictions will last two to three weeks, the ministry
said.
“In recent days, the number of new cases on a daily basis has
been relatively steady at 30 to 40 so it is clear that current
measures have not been enough to adequately control the epidemic,”
chief epidemiologist Thorolfur Gudnason said in a statement
addressed to the ministry.
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Iceland’s health authorities have adopted targeted measures —
for example discotheques in the capital Reykjavik re-opened
only last Monday after a 10-day shutdown — combined with general
hygiene rules and social distancing in a bid to control the
virus.
The latest steps come after coronavirus outbreaks in two nursing
homes in Rekyavik and a sharp increase in hospitalisations, up
seven-fold over a week.
“The hospital is not as well prepared to cope with an influx of
patients as it was in the spring,” Pall Matthiasson, head of the
Iceland University Hospital, said in a message to the public and
staff on its website Friday.
Over the past 19 days, Iceland has reported 663 new cases,
mostly in Reykjavik and surrounding areas.
Iceland, home to 365,000 people, has recorded 2,872 cases and 10
deaths since the outbreak began early this year.
AFP
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