Reykjavík Grapevine - mar 2021, Qupperneq 4

What Are Icelanders
Talking About?
All sound and fury
Words: Andie Sophia Fontaine Photos: Art Bicnick & Antonio Diaz
The good news is: for a
while there we stopped
talking about the coronavi-
rus. The bad news is: we started
talking about earthquakes and
volcanoes. Starting with an earth-
quake swarm that began on the
Reykjanes peninsula on Febru-
ary 23rd, people were decidedly
worried as tremors with a magni-
tude greater than 3 were shaking
on a daily basis. Much speculation
was made as to whether a volcano
was about to erupt in the geologi-
cally active region, summarily
dismissed as pure conjecture. But
then on March 3rd, scientists
measured strong indications
that an eruption was on the way.
Since then, magma movement has
been detected, some of it as shal-
low as one kilometre beneath the
surface, but at the time of this writ-
ing, there’s been no eruption. Not
to worry, though: even if it does
happen, it will almost certainly
be what is known as a “tourist
volcano”—decidedly photogenic
eruptions of lava spewing into the
air, or slithering along the ground,
but no ash cloud, and certainly not
anywhere near any populated areas
or important infrastructure. And
seeing how conveniently close to
the international airport it is, who
knows? Maybe this will re-boot our
flagging tourist industry.
Nowadays, everybody wanna talk
like they got somethin' to say, but
nothin' comes out when they move
their lips, just a bunch of gibberish,
and Icelanders act like they forgot
about the coronavirus. That’s
right, after all a couple of weeks of
reporting “no new domestic cases
yesterday,” we began to grow smug
and complacent. Conservatives
began calling out politicians for
not lifting the current domestic
pandemic restrictions. And then
late in the first week of March, two
people tested positive and both
of them were outside quarantine
at the time. At least one person, at
the time of this writing, has since
been diagnosed, having been in
indirect contact with one of the
other cases. Worst of all, it seems
at least one of those diagnosed
attended a concert at Harpa. Fortu-
nately, anyone who’s been in even
passing contact with these folks
has been put in quarantine and has
been tested. Another group infec-
tion on the way? Possibly. Lifting
the restrictions this month? Not
bloody likely.
On a lighter note, COVID-19
vaccinations have been going
well. At the time of this writing,
12,710 Icelanders have received a
full round of shots, with another
16,607 awaiting their second doses.
Once they do, nearly 10% of the
population will be fully vaccinated.
According to the government's
schedule, everyone in Iceland
should be vaccinated by June.
4The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 03— 2021First
NEWS
Geothermal plant in Svartsengi
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Do I still need this if I use lavender essential oil?
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