Iceland Backtracks, Will Restrict U.S. Residents

Iceland has backtracked and will restrict visits by U.S. residents anytime soon. The country will instead follow the new European guidelines for reopening.

—

Maybe the plans were too ambitious all along. Iceland had planned to allow foreign travel within its borders this summer. A simple idea, too. Airline passengers had a choice to either self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival OR submit to a Covid-19 swab. If the test came back negative, you’d be free to be a tourist.

Iceland Will Follow E.U. Guidelines

That was before the European Union approved a new safe list of countries from which foreign travel would be permitted. The United States did not make that list. Thus, it’s residents will be restricted from visiting the island nation.

Iceland is not a member of the E.U. but is a member of the Schengen area. That’s the bloc of countries that normally permit travel across borders without restrictions nor formalities. The outbreak of Covid-19 changed all that, with once open borders shut down completely. The closures gave us at least one adorable love story (awww!). But mainly, it gave Europe and its economy a giant headache.

Iceland has agreed to the new guidelines and is developing its own policy to match. Iceland will “soon” allow non-essential visits by residents of the E.U. and Schengen area. The country will also allow incoming travel from residents of any country on the E.U. safe list.

Final Thoughts

So Iceland has backtracked and will continue to restrict visits by U.S. residents. At least until the United States can get its Covid-19 situation under control. uropean safe list. The restrictions are likely to last through the summer and beyond.

I thought Iceland had a great plan to safely allow visitors — one that balanced its citizens’ health and safety with the importance of tourism to its economy. But it makes sense for the country to reestablish open borders with its European partners first. The E.U has a sound plan to reopen its external borders to the world, one based on epidemiological factors. It may be more stringent than necessary (the original draft safe lists included more than 40 countries), but restrictions can be eased quickly as more countries learn to manage their coronavirus outbreaks.