Reykjavík Grapevine - mar. 2020, Blaðsíða 4

Reykjavík Grapevine - mar. 2020, Blaðsíða 4
What Are Icelanders Talkin! About? News and views in the Icelandic discourse Words: Andie Sophia Fontaine Photos: Adobe Stock & Art Bicnick One of the more concern- ing news stories of late has been the arrival of the coro- navirus to Iceland. An Icelandic man in his forties was diagnosed on February 28th and was quaran- tined at the Landspítali Infectious Disease Department in Fossvogur. In the days following that first confirmed case of COVID-19, 34 more Icelanders were diagnosed with the virus, which first emerged in China in late 2019 and has since spread to 70 countries, with roughly 90,000 cases band 3,000 deaths being reported. All of the diagnosed Icelanders are confirmed to have recently returned from Northern Italy, which has become a hub for the virus in Europe, or Austria. Almost 400 Icelanders are currently being quarantined in their homes. The Department of Civil Protec- tion and Emergency Manage- ment announced an “Alert Phase" in response to the emergence of COVID-19 in Iceland, and the Direc- torate of Health is regularly updat- ing information about the virus on their website. Their recommen- dation for the general public is to focus on good hygiene, washing hands with soap and water, using alcohol-based hand sanitisers, and coughing or sneezing into the crook of your elbow. The weather continues to be a hot topic in Iceland, as it seems we’re hit with a yellow or orange warning from the Icelandic Met Office one or two times a week now. There have, in fact been two cyclones since late January, with violent storms closing roads, shut- tering schools, cancelling air travel, and generally making everyone miserable. This is especially the case in the countryside, where the woefully outdated infrastructure has meant power outages for many communities during these storms, sending electrical work- ers scrambling to get the juice back on. No one is looking forward to summer as much as we are right now. Strikes have also been a topic of great contention in the news lately, regarding two unions in particular: Efling, a union comprised of some of the lowest-paid workers in the country, and BSRB, comprised of municipal and state employees. Negotiations between Efling and the City of Reykjavík are at an impasse at the time of this writing, which has affected play schools, elderly care, and even garbage collection. Meanwhile, BSRB work- ers are slated to begin striking on March 9 if no collective bargaining agreement can be reached. Could be dark times ahead for the city if they can’t make a deal with these unions. Finally, the case of a trans teen and his family, seeking asylum from Iran has been hitting many Icelanders hard. The family is slated to be deported to Portu- gal, their last point of departure within the Schengen area, on the grounds of the Dublin Regula- tion—a controversial and arguably obsolete agreement that gives the Icelandic government the power to deport people without looking at their cases if they were regis- tered in an EEA country on their way here. Maní, the trans teen in question, has a lot of supporters, ranging from the National Queer Organisation to the Bishop of Iceland herself, and the case has even attracted the attention of international news outlets. The Immigrations Appeals Board is now reviewing the case, and so the deportation has been postponed, for the time being, but the family isn't out of the woods yet. 4The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 03— 2020First NEWS Wash your hands for 30 seconds, you dirty boy Published by Fröken ehf. Hafnarstræti 15, 101 Reykjavík www.grapevine.is grapevine@grapevine.is Member of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association www.saf.is Printed by Landsprent ehf. in 20,000 copies. PUBLISHER Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson hilmar@grapevine.is +354 540 3601 publisher@grapevine.is EDITOR"IN"CHIEF Valur Grettisson valur@grapevine.is ART DIRECTOR Sveinbjörn Pálsson sveinbjorn@grapevine.is NEWS EDITOR Andie Sophia Fontaine andie@grapevine.is CULTURE EDITOR Hannah Jane Cohen hannah@grapevine.is PHOTO EDITOR Art Bicnick art@grapevine.is WEB EDITOR Andie Sophia Fontaine andie@grapevine.is LISTINGS DIRECTOR Hannah Jane Cohen listings@grapevine.is COPY EDITOR Catharine Fulton ILLUSTRATIONS Elín Elísabet INTERN Sam O'Donnell samuel@grapevine.is CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Alexander Jean de Fontenay Inês Pereira Josie Gaitens Ragnar Egilsson Rex Beckett PHOTOGRAPHERS Aleksandra Wierzbowska Evil Suburban Kids Íris Dögg Einarsdóttir Rut Sigur!ardóttir SALES DIRECTORS A!alsteinn Jörundsson adalsteinn@grapevine.is Helgi &ór Har!arson helgi@grapevine.is CONTACT US: —» Editorial +354 540 3600 editor@grapevine.is —» Advertising 354 540 3605 ads@grapevine.is —» Distribution & Subscriptions +354 540 3604 distribution@ grapevine.is —» Press releases listings@grapevine.is —» General Inquiries grapevine@grapevine.is FOUNDERS Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson, Hör!ur Kristbjörnsson, Jón Trausti Sigur!arson, Oddur Óskar Kjartansson, Valur Gunnarsson The Reykjavík Grapevine is published 21 times a year by Fröken ltd. Monthly from December through February, and fortnightly from March til October. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publishers. The Reykjavík Grapevine is distributed around Reykjavík, Akureyri, Egilssta!ir, Sey!isfjör!ur, Borgarnes, Keflavík, Ísafjör!ur and at key locations along road #1, and all major tourist attractions and tourist information centres in the country. You may not like it, but at least it's not sponsored (no articles in the Reykjavík Grapevine are pay-for articles. The opinions expressed are the writers’ own, not the advertisers’). Not everybody wants to live in 'Frozen', God THE HOME OF ICELANDIC SEAFOOD AND LAMB APOTEK Kitchen+Bar is a casual-smart restaurant located in one of Reykjavíks most historical buildings. We specialize in fresh seafood and local ingredients prepared with a modern twist. APOTEK KITCHEN+BAR Austurstræti 16 101 Reykjavík apotek.is

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