Border measures to be reviewed by 15 January

The Icelandic Government has announced that current border measures to limit the influx of COVID-19 infections will remain mostly unchanged until 1 February next year. These measures include a choice between a fourteen-day quarantine period or a double screening process, with a five-day quarantine required between a border test and a second test. 

However, as of 10 December, arriving passengers who have already recovered from a COVID-19 infection will exempt from border measures if they can provide proof of prior infection. Further information on what kind of documentation is needed will be available shortly on the Government information portal www.covid.is. 

"These measures are intended to limit the risk of infections getting into the country across the border. While we can never guarantee that all potential sources of future outbreaks can be stopped, it is prudent to aim to minimize this risk as much as possible. We are hopeful that the development of effective vaccines will allow us to review the border measures in the first weeks of the new year," says Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland.

Further decisions on border measures will be made no later than 15 January 2021.

The Government's decision is based on a memorandum from a working group on the recognition of certificates appointed by the Minister of Health, a working group on economic measures in response to COVID-19 appointed by the Minister of Finance; and the recommendation of the Chief Epidemiologist.