COVID-19: Decision on revised border screening regulations

The Minister of Health has agreed to the Chief Epidemiologist’s recommendations to revise the current border-screening regulations, to be issued and effective no later than 13 July. The revision will only apply to Icelandic citizens and residents of Iceland who choose to be tested at the border. They would be required to self-quarantine for five days and undergo a second test, free of charge, to eliminate the risk of a false-negative result. As before, it will be possible to choose to self-quarantine for 14 days instead of undergoing a test at the border.

In his recommendations, the Chief Epidemiologist says the experience of border screening has revealed a risk of false-negative results in recently-infected individuals. This poses a risk of cluster infections who pose, especially in the case of individuals with an extensive network in Iceland.  Therefore, he proposes that the revised rules will only apply to Icelandic citizens and residents in Iceland, but not to tourists.