Two COVID-19 infections were diagnosed within Iceland yesterday, both outside of quarantine at the time of diagnosis, according to a press release from Iceland’s Civil Protection and Emergency Management Department. Both of the infected individuals were vaccinated. One attended Reykjavík’s Bankastræti Club last weekend, and club management encourages any attendees experiencing symptoms to get tested.
According to Hjördís Guðmundsdóttir, director of communications for the Civil Protection Department, a number of people have been placed in quarantine in connection with the two infections. Contact tracing is still ongoing and is expected to take a few days.
Hjördís encouraged the public to download the Icelandic government’s official contact tracing app, Rakning C-19. “The app can help the contact tracing team to track infections and it can be said that it plays a key role now as there are no social restrictions in place in Iceland,” Hjördís wrote. “Let’s continue to be careful and get tested if we notice symptoms, both vaccinated individuals and unvaccinated.”
Vaccination is widespread in Iceland: 92% of women and 88% of men aged 16 and over in Iceland have received one or both shots of COVID-19 vaccine. Of the total population, 64.8% is fully vaccinated while 71.6% have received one or both shots.
Iceland’s Chief Epidemiologist Þórólfur Guðnason told RÚV the two infections are not connected to each other or to any cases recently diagnosed at the border.
