Iceland’s government has called a press conference at 4:00 PM this afternoon. It will be held on the Suðurnes peninsula in Southwest Iceland, where the cabinet convened at 10:00 AM this morning and will hold meetings all day. Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir stated that COVID-19 restrictions will be on the agenda. Current domestic restrictions expire on August 13.
“At our regular meeting I expect infection prevention measures to be discussed,” Katrín told Vísir. “The current measures run out in three days so we will discuss them.” Iceland reimposed domestic restrictions on July 24, including a 200-person gathering limit and one-metre social distancing, in response to rising COVID-19 case numbers. While health authorities have confirmed that vaccination is minimising instances of hospitalisation and serious illness in the current wave, they have also stated that the sheer number of cases is pushing infrastructure toward its limits.
Long-term COVID-19 policy will not be presented
A government notice stated that the press conference will also address “the progress of the projects in the government agreement and measures to support the creative industries.” The state council has met with various interest groups over the past two weeks in order to shape a long-term policy on tackling the ongoing pandemic. The Prime Minister stated, however, that a long-term COVID-19 policy would not be presented at today’s press conference.
“We’ve both been discussing this current wave and how we tackle it but also long-term measures,” Katrín stated. “We won’t present any long-term measures at this time. I can absolutely confirm that. The issue has not reached that stage.” She did, however, imply the government would present what measures, if any, would replace the current ones after August 13.
Iceland Review will live-tweet the press conference at 4:00 PM UTC.
