Iceland has coronavirus under control thanks to a strict policy of test, trace and isolate, the country’s prime minister has told Sky News.
There are only a handful of cases emerging each day on the sparsely populated island nation, and on one day this week no new cases were reported.
“Our main guiding line has been to follow the instruction of the World Health Organisation,” said prime minister Katrin Jakobsdottir.
“That means testing a lot of people, tracing, putting the people into quarantine and having people in isolation where they are sick. These instructions are what we have been doing.”
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Katrin Jakobsdottir said living in a small country makes it easier to get information from people
At a clinic in the capital Reykjavik we saw person after person turning up for appointments to be screened.
But not one of them feels sick. Not one has a cough or a temperature. Not one of them has shown any signs or symptoms of COVID-19.
This facility is actually testing the seemingly healthy to get a better sense of the true spread of the virus amongst the population.
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A large number of the population have been tested
As he registers at the clinic, we talk to Aladin Jadallah, a young man who has turned up for his appointment.
“I feel it’s my social responsibility to come,” he tells us. “To make sure that I and the people I live with are not infected”.
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On some days recently the clinic, run by a private company, has carried out up to a thousand tests a day.
Many people with no symptoms at all get positive results and they are quickly put into isolation.
Had they not been tested, they could have unwittingly passed the virus onto others.
But the clinic is doing more than testing. It is taking blood samples from people to check for antibodies against COVID-19. It’s part of Iceland’s long term strategy to deal with the virus.
Brynja Dagbjartsdottir speaks to us as her blood is taken. She tells us she has come because she wants to be part of the fight against the virus.
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The PM told Sky News the main principle was following advice of the World Health Organisation
“I want to help,” she says, “and I want to be safe. If they find I have COVID-19 then I need to stay away from people.”
Iceland now believes it has tested a higher percentage of the population than any other nation.
From a population of 360,000, samples have been taken from 45,000 people, thanks to a collaboration between the public and private sector.
Those with symptoms are tested by the health service. Those without can get tested at the clinic we visited.
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Anyone arriving in the country – including Icelanders returning home – must quarantine for two weeks
Prime Minister Jakobsdottir says there are benefits to being a small nation.
“In a small country, it is easier to get information to everybody,” she says.
“We have also shown a lot of solidarity. And that is very Icelandic. Maybe because we are a small nation and island.
“We tend to argue about everything. But when we are hit with something big we tend to show strong solidarity.”
But testing is only part of Iceland’s approach.
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Part of a hotel has been taken over by Iceland’s contact tracing team
Huge time and effort has gone into chasing down people who’ve come into contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19.
Part of a hotel in the capital has been taken over by Iceland’s contact tracing team. At one point in recent weeks the unit was 160 strong.
Detective Chief Inspector Gestur Palmason is at his desk trying to locate people who’ve been close to someone confirmed to have COVID-19.
A veteran of counter-terrorism and organised crime he’s using well-honed investigative skills to locate people.
A COVID-19 phone app has also been developed which can trace people’s movements.
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A COVID-19 phone app can trace people’s movements
He tells us the hospital or clinic pass on the names and details of anyone who tests positive and they are asked to proe information
“We contact them directly via phone call. We ask them about where they’ve been, who they’ve met and the rule of thumb is if you’ve been within two metres for more than 15 minutes of an indiual, you are believed to be a ‘contact’,” he says.
“So once we’ve gathered all your contacts, we call and tell them that they need to go into quarantine for two weeks.”
The team also tracks people arriving in Iceland.
On our first day on the island, we got a call as we were working.
A police officer wanting to know where we were, where we would be going. Our flight details, names, and numbers had been passed onto the team.
The day after we got here, Iceland brought in new measures. Anyone arriving in the country, including Icelanders returning home, has to quarantine for two weeks.
Believing they’ve gotten on top of the virus, they don’t want to risk travellers spreading it again.
