Irish Secret, life on the Island that does not seem to exist in pandemic

Students are in their school banks, cafes and restaurants are open and tourists are always welcome.

It's Iceland that, thanks to its successful testing and inoculation program, transparent government and disciplined citizens, has managed to bring pandemic under control and restore economic recovery.

From the beginning of the pandemic, only 29 people are registered in Iceland and 6,083 infected with COVID-19.

According to European Agency for Disease Prevention and Control data (ECDC), in 14 days the number of infected population in 100,000 is only 4.12, while the monthly percentage of new coronavirus cases in Europe behave around 300. The rate of deaths as a result of COVID-19 per week is zero.

There are several important factors that have led this direction that Iceland has never been forced to submit to the extent of isolation, while its borders have opened to tourists in mid-June last year.

And the most likely factor was isolation. This island state is located in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean with a population of about 350,000, and natural priorities are considered a bonus when it comes to managing pandemic.

Prime Minister Katrín Jacobsdóttir believes that the island's distance with other countries, however, has not been enough to tame the virus.

If I think about this pandemic, what's most obvious is how opinion in Iceland has participated in everything. People really began to believe the advice of experts and scientists, changing their behavior. Respect and adhere to measures”, Jakobsdóttir said during an interview given to NBC.

The Irish prime minister here also thinks of tourists who largely respect measures to prevent further spread of the coronavirus before entering this country. All who enter this country must show the negative test PCR, test the port and then test again after five days of quarantine. “98 percent of people go to test for the second time. I think it's an excellent score of”, the Icelandic prime minister has added.

However, those who have been completely vaccinated or infected earlier with COVID-19 do not need quarantine. Iceland has so far vaccinated some 13 thousand inhabitants, and some 34 thousand have received at least one dose, while another 21 thousand are expected to undergo the vaccine process.
The main Irish epidemiologist Thorolfur Goodnason recently declared that now more important is preventing the new wave of infection, when the country is continuing to open its borders even more.

Although the World Health Organization did not support the idea of COVID passports, the Irish epidemiologist has stressed that it is a fair idea because he has seen many preliminary results from countries like Israel that have vaccinated most of the population.

We must somehow open the borders. We're trying to do this scientifically”, Goodnason added.

And that Iceland likes to rely on science, it was shown two months ago when the news was spread that they had genetically listed all cases with COVID-19 from the beginning of the pandemic. The sequence of viruses is essential to facilitate the fight with new variants and monitor pandemics.
Iceland decided to give confidence to experts from the biofarmacetic company deCO De Genetics, which has analyzed every positive test of coronavrus in this country. That's why the island knows there's no version of the virus from South Africa and that they've had about 60 cases of British infection.

This data enables the government precisely to determine measures to combat the further spread of the coronavirus but also to prevent early openings from taking place. The epidemiological measures have gradually eased into four phases, while government transparency that is based on proven science and facts has made citizens more easily accept the measures.

Schools have opened in mid-August, and in October, pools, restaurants, bars, and gyms. Masks and physical distance are mandatory in public spaces and urban traffic. Solidarity is also one of the factors that have enabled schools to remain open. In fact, until it has been thought about whether schools should be closed, the prime minister has also considered the consequences that their closure could cause problems for working women.

I think that if there is any lesson they can take from this pandemic, it is the importance of women in the world's labour market and health sector”, the prime minister has added.

Despite success, however, this country is cautious and warns that things can soon change. Although the Irish prime minister is pleased with the government's work, she says there is no time for rest until the island is trembling by more than 20 thousand earthquakes.