Covid19 risk is real. Iceland.

[SSScout 1615]

This was passed on to me, the link is reeealy long, but the story is worth considering .

 

[MattR 2659]

 

I copied and pasted the text here, as @SSScout's  link didn't work.

 

 

Quote

 

You might say we Icelanders received a nasty wake-up call this weekend when it comes to trusting folks who say they'll quarantine when they come to this country.

Yesterday it was reported that two people had been arrested for theft from a store in Selfoss, a small town about an hour's drive east of Reykjavík. The Selfoss PD had requested the Reykjavík police arrest the people, who were allegedly en route to the capital in a car. Arrests were duly made, and it transpired that the pair, who are Romanian nationals, had arrived in Iceland four days earlier, and were therefore supposed to be in quarantine. Which they obviously were not.

They were subsequently tested for Covid 19 and were found to be positive.

As a consequence, sixteen police officers who were involved with their arrest are now in quarantine. Of those, eleven are officers in the south Iceland jurisdiction, and comprise one-fifth of the total staff. They are now out of commission for the next two weeks.

Three other Romanian nationals had arrived on the same flight as the arrested pair, and had given the same address as to where they would be spending their time in quarantine. When police went there, it transpired that they had provided false information, and had never been at that location.

A manhunt was launched, their pictures were published in the media, and by the end of today they had all been found. In the interim, of course, there was widespread panic that they, too, might have the virus, and be waltzing around infecting people. They tested negative for the virus (thankfully), but must be quarantined. None of them can be remanded in custody since they might be infectious, so a "quarantine hotel" was swiftly opened up to keep them contained.

Police are now looking for another "gang" of people who arrived in Iceland at the beginning of the month, also from Romania, who appear to have some ties with this other group. As yet, they have not been apprehended.

This business has shocked many of us here back to reality. The virus seemed to have been all but eradicated here in Iceland, with only five positive cases in the last month or so, and we were starting to feel like things were slowly getting back to normal, and that opening the borders tomorrow might actually be OK. Now, many people are anxious and fearful about this imminent move.

The plan for opening is that people will have a choice as to whether they want to be tested for the Covid virus at the airport, or go into quarantine for two weeks. What many of us now fear is that folks will come, choose the option to go into quarantine, and then just go off adventuring, thieving, or whatever else they feel like doing.

I guess we have all been a little naive, taking the "þetta reddast" stance on the opening of the borders, believing people to be basically good and willing to play by the rules. Oh, the folly!

What is also obvious is that Icelandic authorities do not have the capacity or resources to track people, or ensure they remain in quarantine like they say they will. And with tourists being charged ISK 15,000 for testing after July 1, I fear many will simply say "Oh, hey, I'll go into quarantine" just to escape paying the fee, while having no intention of staying there for two weeks.

Gah. What a bloody mess.

 

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