The Ministry of Health of Iceland has announced that from December 1 to January 31, temporary tests for arriving travelers will be provided free of charge.
According to SchengenVisaInfo.com, the change was taken in an attempt by the authorities to start replacing quarantine rules with testing so that more internationals could access the country.
The Chief Epidemiologist of Iceland, ⁇ órólfur Guðnason, expressed his concerns about the increasing number of new cases of infections recently reported in Iceland and announced the proposal.
There have been several incidents of skepticism of the presence of new pathogens in Iceland involving visitors who expect to spend just a short time in Iceland. It was suggested that all individuals entering the country be forced to test at the border, unless medical considerations rule this out, or that the border testing fee be lowered,' reads the Government of Iceland report.
Earlier this month, the Icelandic authorities announced that a precondition for economic recovery will be to adjust the arrangements for the country's border screening process over the next year, thus helping free movement and allowing a greater number of internationals to enter the country.
The Icelandic working group of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs reached such a conclusion when analyzing the current situation of Coronavirus.
The group stressed that more visitors are expected to visit the country in order to help the economic sector recover from the damage caused by the deadly virus, so the screening arrangements must be changed.
There are several ways of promoting travel between Iceland and other countries, according to the organization, without losing the social benefits of successful disease control.
Because of the rise in the number of COVID-19 infections, the authorities in Iceland have previously declared that the double screening process will be extended until December, unless the current situation begins to ease.
A total of 5,226 cases of infection have been reported in Iceland up to this point, while 25 people have lost their lives due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
In Iceland, more than 4,900 people have recovered from the deadly virus, although there are 267 active cases to date.
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