As of yesterday 18th March Iceland has announced that the country will open its borders to vaccinated travellers from around the world.
Worldwide arrivals will now be allowed to enter upon providing proof of having had the Covid-19 vaccination, an extension of their previous policy which allowed only vaccinated travellers from the European Schengen zone to enter. Until now, visitors outside of this area have had to follow a five-day quarantine period and provide a negative test at the border. Only vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency will be accepted in this new policy, including the AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines. This change of policy means that the country can now welcome visitors from major source markets the UK and US.
Iceland’s Chief Epidemiologist Thórólfur Gudnason stated, “Our experience and data so far indicate very strongly that there is very little risk of infection stemming from individuals who have acquired immunity against the disease, either by vaccination or by prior infection”. “When people are protected against the same disease, with the same vaccines that are produced by the same companies, there is no medical reason to discriminate on the basis of the location where the jab is administered.”
Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said, “The world has been through a lot in the past 12 months, and we are all hoping for a slow and safe return to normalcy. This also includes the resumption of the opportunity to travel”.
