The option to close Iceland due to the spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, is constantly being reassessed, in accordance with new risk assessments, mbl.is reports.
A task group from the national police commissioner’ s office believes authorities have the right to close the country if public health is at stake. This was revealed at a press conference over the weekend.
The first three cases of people infected with coronavirus have been confirmed in Iceland, the country’s Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management said in a statement late on Sunday.
The first patient was diagnosed on Friday while two other patients were confirmed during the weekend. All three patients had spent time on holiday in northern Italy, authorities said.
The task force has looked into the possibility of limiting the arrival of tourists to Iceland from risk areas and concludes there are various options available.
The reaction of Icelandic authorities is in accordance with guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the chief of epidemiology and police authorities.
“The World Health Organization has the authority to give instructions regarding travel restrictions, in accordance with international health regulations to prevent the spread of disease. The situation is constantly being reassessed in Iceland on a day-to-day basis, with regard to the latest updates,” the task force states.
The group lists possible actions to contain the spread of the virus, including placing people suspected of being infected in quarantine or possibly isolation. Denying people visas or refusing them entry into the country is another option, if public safety is at stake, which could prove hard to do unless other countries within the EU or Schengen do the same.
