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How Iceland has beaten Covid-19

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Thu, 9 Jul 2020, 2:30PM
Anyone visiting Iceland right now could be forgiven for thinking they've arrived in a parallel universe where the Coronavirus never happened. (Photo / CNN)
Anyone visiting Iceland right now could be forgiven for thinking they've arrived in a parallel universe where the Coronavirus never happened. (Photo / CNN)

How Iceland has beaten Covid-19

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Thu, 9 Jul 2020, 2:30PM

The bars and restaurants are full. People are out enjoying themselves. Spectacular geological attractions are wide open to tourists. Anyone visiting Iceland right now could be forgiven for thinking they've arrived in a parallel universe where the coronavirus never happened.

It's a tantalizing prospect. For people arriving from countries still under lockdown, the sheer normality of eating lunch in a bustling Reykjavik cafe is almost as thrilling as peering over the thundering abyss of Iceland's mighty Gullfoss waterfall.

There's an added bonus for anyone who does make the trip here at the moment. Usually crowded with travelers at this time of year, the country is empty. Visitors will more or less have attractions like Gullfoss or the explosive hot springs of Geysir to themselves.

This isn't because Iceland has been immune to Covid-19. In its early stages, the infection wreaked havoc among the island's relatively small population. But thanks to a rigorous regime of tracking and tracing, it has more or less been eliminated, giving the country confidence to reopen borders on June 15.

Two days later, on June 17, Iceland celebrated its annual national day with its usual zeal, locals mingling in the pretty Nordic streets of the capital. There were no face masks or social distancing as Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdóttir came out to address the crowds.

Journalist Lara Omarsdottir joins Tim Dower to discuss how Iceland is handling the crisis

- with text by CNN

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