The country that defeated the virus: no deaths from Covid in 2021 and no cases since May | the Chronicle

While some countries of Europe fight against the increase in cases of Covid-19 during fifth wave of coronavirus, Iceland seems to have left the pandemic behind. Since mid-May, he has not reported any cases of infection and has not recorded any deaths from the SARS-CoV-2 since December 29 of last year.

With him 72.17% of Icelandic residents vaccinated with at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and 66.69% completely inoculated, the Nordic island experiences a very different reality from that experienced by its European neighbors. The last infected was recorded on May 26, 2021 and they have not had to mourn any deaths so far this year.

According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) of the Johns Hopkins University, since the start of the pandemic only 1.9% of the population of Iceland (6,555 of the more than 343,000 inhabitants of the island) were infected and 29 people lost their lives.

The worst day of infections was October 9, when 106 new cases were counted in 24 hours, while the worst day in terms of death came on November 20, 2020, with five deaths. The peak in infections occurred on November 9 of the same year, with 109 new infections.

The formula for success

So far, the situation in Iceland remains stable and experts assure that in the near future they do not see a new wave of infections such as those affecting other European countries, all thanks to the success vaccination campaign implemented and restrictive measures imposed by the Icelandic government.

Iceland received the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine on December 28, 2020 and inoculation began the next day. According to official data from July 14, the island has already fully vaccinated 252,152 of the 356,991 inhabitants who reside on the island.

Iceland’s success in the face of Covid-19 is also due to the fact that since the emergence of the virus, tests are carried out daily nationwide, and not just for people with symptoms, as is the case in most countries.

Its strategy, as defined by the government itself, “test, test and test again”, allowed school and business activities to remain open without exposing its residents to the virus.

The tests were free and voluntary, but almost the entire population decided to go to health centers to take the PCR test. The civic responsibility meant that around 50% of new cases were already isolated and in quarantine at the time of diagnosis and first symptoms, as they had been detected before.

Although the Icelandic government has taken measures like those adopted in almost the rest of the world, such as limited capacity in hotels and recreation or banning meetings of more than 20 people, it is the commitment of its people. which made it possible to control the circulation of the virus. .