Iceland bars visitors from nations with high COVID rates

Iceland will bar travellers from 16 countries considered to be at a "high risk" of COVID-19 infections, the justice ministry said Tuesday.

The north Atlantic island defines high risk as "regions or countries where the 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population exceeds 500 or more or from where sufficient information is not available", a statement said.

They include three members of the Schengen zone that includes Iceland, notably France, Poland and Sweden.

Some exceptions are to be made for people who live in Iceland and members of their families however, and for those who can present a certificate of vaccination or proof they had previously been infected by the coronavirus.

"Essential" travel is another exception.

Starting Tuesday, travellers who do arrive from the 16 countries are to spend five days in quarantine while they await the results of a virus test.

The country's chief epidemiologist may grant some exemptions there as well.

Meanwhile, the health ministry presented a four-stage plan to lift domestic travel restrictions depending on progress with vaccinations.

The ministry is aiming for mid June, when it estimates that around 75 percent of those over 16 years of age will have received at least one vaccination dose.

Around 280,000 of Iceland's total population of 365,000 are aged 16 or over.