Ten individuals have contracted the virus within Iceland, including a handful of nurses at Landspítali university hospital. Several dozen hospital staff are now in home quarantine as a precaution.

The nurses caught the virus from a colleague returning to work from a ski trip in an Alpine ski resort that was not in a recognised high-risk area. As a result, Iceland’s civil protection agency is now examining whether to expand its high-risk area to include all of the Alps.

In related news, four Icelanders are in quarantine in Vietnam and unconfirmed reports in foreign media claim that one Icelander in Vietnam is suffering from the illness. Other sources indicate the man might be from Ireland, rather than Iceland.

Within Iceland, it has been confirmed that both health authorities and government ministers have the power to ban large public gatherings and/or limit freedom of movement around the country. Neither power has been exercised to date, however.

These powers could, for example, include closing schools, and other gathering places. Health checks could take place at entry points to the country, access to whole regions could be stopped, or the border sealed altogether.

As stated above, no such actions are in place yet and the first cruise ship of the year has docked in Reykjavík this morning. There is no suspicion of any virus cases on board the ship.

Icelandair has reacted to lower bookings and increased cancellations by cancelling 80 flights this March and April. This represents about two percent of the airline’s scheduled 3,500 flights during that period.

Two foreign tourists were taken into quarantine this weekend. They were taken to the central Reykjavík hotel that the authorities have hired in its entirety for that purpose. One of the men was held in isolation pending test results, while the other was held in quarantine after having been in contact with another person later diagnosed with COVID-19. The two men are not travelling together and do not know each other.

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