Reykjavík Grapevine - jun. 2021, Síða 4

What Are Icelanders
Talkin! About?
Whole lotta bannin! !oin’ on
Words: Andie Sophia Fontaine Photos: Art Bicnick & AdobeStock
Infection rates for the
coronavirus have been
low and a recent easing of restric-
tions has allowed Icelanders to
forgo wearing a mask in a great
many situations, including visit-
ing grocery stores, restaurants
and cafés. This has prompted a
very obvious divide in the public
discourse, between people who are
thrilled to visit Bónus bare-faced
and those who are still concerned
about unintentionally spreading
the virus to vulnerable and as-yet-
unvaccinated compatriots and will
continue to mask up for the fore-
seeable future. We certainly would
not take a position one way or the
other and wouldn’t dream of ques-
tioning the wisdom of our health
authorities, but it should go with-
out saying that continuing to wear
a mask, at the very least, certainly
isn’t going to hurt anyone. Let no
one mask-shame you.
Speaking of the pandemic, quar-
antine hotels are now a thing
of the past. No more will new or
returning arrivals to Iceland have
to sequester themselves at a hotel,
barring special circumstances.
Readers may recall the very public
legal battle that arose around these
hotels, replete with lawyers making
grand statements that compared
the scheme to North Korea, culmi-
nating in a court battle that forced
Parliament to review the legisla-
tion. All that is moot now—just in
time for the start of Iceland’s tradi-
tional tourist high season.
Any time the Directorate of Immi-
gration (ÚTL) makes the news,
you can bet that it’s not going to
be good. Such has been the case for
the past couple weeks now, after it
came to light that ÚTL was evict-
ing refugees from shelters for not
taking a pre-deportation PCR test.
14 refugees, most of them from
Palestine, are currently homeless,
cut off from food stipends (asylum
seekers are not legally permitted to
work) and denied health care. The
legality of this has been questioned
by the Icelandic Red Cross, amongst
others, as has the legality of deport-
ing anyone to Greece. ÚTL has been
on the defensive over these actions,
so it remains to be seen if sustained
public criticism and protests will
have any effect on their policies.
In brighter news, tourism is back!
Relaxed pandemic restrictions and
the massive vaccination rollout in
the US and other countries—not to
mention here at home—has tour-
ism operators very optimistic. It is
predicted that some 700,000 tour-
ists will visit Iceland this year. A far
cry from the 2 million who would
visit the country each year at the
peak of the tourism boom, but as a
country with an economy so heav-
ily reliant on tourism, it’s certainly
better than nothing.
4The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 06— 2021First
NEWS
Say cheese!
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