How Iceland became the first country in Europe to have a small number of COVID-19 cases

Seen from here, Iceland looks a lot like another world and it doesn’t just have to do with the wonderful Northern Lights that appear in the sky during the frigid nights of this remote island in the North Atlantic. Here, in addition, the coronavirus wants to be a problem that already belongs to the past.

According to the Covid.is website There are currently 75 positive cases, only one of which is in hospital and is not an intensive care case.your. In the past 24 hours, 17 new cases have been detected. The numbers are astounding: Since the start of the pandemic so far, this country has added 6,144 cases of infections in total. The dead number 29.

There is a problem that must be taken into account beforehand. Due to its insular location in the North Atlantic, Iceland has a clear advantage and can only be compared to a limited extent with other major European countries: 360,000 inhabitants.

For several weeks, there has been a feeling of relaxation in the streets, which have become crowded with people. Young people flocked to karaoke nights in downtown Reykjavik, the capital, where several were seen kissing, almost as if nothing had happened. Evenings, restaurants, concerts, everything is open in this country where it was decided immediately, once the pandemic started, to do tests, trace contacts and isolate all diagnosed.

“Last week, on Saint Patrick’s night, there was karaoke in the street as many bars were fully occupied.So people would improvise sidewalk festivities, some without a mask or distance. The relaxation in general was due to the fact that the virus was hardly circulating in the community, ”he said. Infobae Jimena Martínez, an Argentinian who lives in Iceland.

And he added: “People came quite relaxed because we were almost the entire month of february without a covid case. The few that there were were detected at the border control of the airport and on a daily basis we were almost normal, the people who work in the field of tourism and gastronomy are those who put the most pressure on the authorities. . to lift the restrictions, because many of them have lost their jobs due to the decline in activity ”.

Good numbers, reason the young woman, They are due to the fact that “people trust authorities and generally obey recommendations. In addition, there has never been any restriction of movement, you didn’t need a driver’s license or anything like that. Another problem is that it is a country with a small population and in general people are not in a hurry, and welcoming with a kiss is not very common, like in Argentina ”.

Florence Bugallo Dukelsky It’s another Argentina who lives there. Depending on the account, if you go to a bar or a restaurant, you must wear the chin strap. “Especially if you’re going to order something from the bar. People normally take their chinstrap off when they are seated at a table, but they still have to put it back on if they have to pay ”. And Florence continues: “You also have to wear a chin strap in buses, as well as in stores. For example, in my work I have to keep using it. It depends a lot, there are people who take care of themselves and people who don’t. At least the people I interact with are a little tired of constantly stopping things. “

But the news of the day is that from Thursday March 25 Some places such as bars and restaurants are closing again. The decree was announced on Wednesday and goes into effect Thursday at 12 a.m. “Here we were leading a normal life, and they cut everything at the same time, ”complains Jimena. “The cases were decreasing until two weeks ago, we were infected with 7. And now they have increased again,” adds Florencia.

Prevention

Iceland quickly brought its first wave under control, and in May 2020 people started declaring the country free from coronavirus. Things continued like this but at the end of August, the country was unexpectedly hit by a fierce wave, after what two tourists who tested positive when they broke the rules of their isolation.

“The problem with this case is that two tourists are behind it. The tourists did not respect the quarantine and went to the bars, and this is how many cases happened. In general, people were very upset that they had to close businesses, gymnasiums, etc., because the people who came to visit did not respect the rules imposed on travelers. The problem is, there is no way to be cautious, because if someone decides not to comply with the quarantine, they won’t. In Iceland, you have to do two tests and a 5-day quarantine between these tests. Many people relax when the first test is negative, when in fact they should continue to take care of themselves until the second test is done. I also know people who, knowing that they had to be quarantined, left anyway, ”explains Florencia.

The truth is that in Iceland, after eradicating the virus, the borders have been closed: since June of last year all arriving passengers are quarantined and there are mandatory tests at the airport. . Something some countries took almost a year to decipher, Iceland discovered within months.

Thorolfur Gudnason, is Iceland’s leading epidemiologist. With every step it took, Iceland followed the science, led by Professor Gudnason and his team, without politicians participating in daily briefings. For the Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrin Jakobsdottir, pandemic and politics are two words that do not go hand in hand.

However, being in the background didn’t mean she wasn’t involved. “This pandemic kept me awake for a whole year. I just wish it was all over and I could talk politics again “said the woman who has closely followed rigorous testing to follow up cases and isolate any infected to prevent the country from experiencing drastic lockdowns.

For months, Iceland had managed to prevent another of the evils of this pandemic: the British variant entering the country. But there was a first case that leaked and infected another person. This person had gone to work in a hospital and then to a concert with 800 other people where she had socialized at the bar during the intermission.

Within hours, everyone had been contacted and within days more than 1,000 people had been tested. Two more cases were identified and all those infected were transferred to the isolation hotel. The variant was contained

It’s hard to ignore the role Iceland’s unique geography has played in its success. This volcanic island is used to dealing with disasters, with all its eruptions and avalanches. For weeks Iceland has experienced a series of thousands of earthquakes a day and there is some imagination that the pandemic is just another disaster to be dealt with. The Prime Minister even admitted that she had the same teams working on both issues.

With 6.59 new infections per 100,000 population, Iceland has no one to compare to in figures from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Even the other northern European countries – Norway, Finland and Denmark – which are currently behind Iceland, the countries with the lowest number of infections in the European Economic Area, are far above.

Quarantine is undoubtedly a crucial part of Icelandic strategy: anyone who has come into contact with an infected person must do so without exception. This is how until now they were 6,144 people who have tested positive in Iceland, but nearly 46,000 have already been quarantined.

Epidemiologist Gudnason pointed out that Despite the good situation, easing restrictions, at least those that have been underway until today, must be done slowly and with caution. “I don’t think the virus has disappeared from Iceland. I’m afraid he’s hiding somewhere», He declared during a press conference.

As far as vaccination goes, it happens quite slowly. The priority orders that govern most countries are respected: health and police personnel and the elderly. So far, 10% of the population has been affected and people over 60 have not been vaccinated. To date, 38,142 people have received at least one of the doses. And there are 19,887 people who already have both doses.

The vaccination campaign was delayed slightly by delays in the delivery of AstraZeneca vaccines, so that the deadlines to vaccinate 50 percent of the population were extended by one month until July.

From May 1, a new system of entry into the country is planned, which could also release travelers from countries at low risk of infection from quarantine. On the other hand, the Icelandic government has announced that it will allow the entry into the country of vaccinated tourists from all over the world and people from European countries considered “at low risk”.

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