Four weeks after lifting all its coronavirus restrictions, Iceland is reversing course and once again dialling down public life starting on Sunday, the government has announced.
Bars and clubs will have to close at midnight, a maximum of 200 people will be allowed at events, masks will be required indoors and residents will have to maintain 1 metre of distance under the rules announced by the government on Friday, according to broadcaster RUV.
The four-week reprieve had come after 15 months of mandatory social distancing and mask-wearing.
About 90 per cent of all Icelanders over age 16 have received at least one coronavirus vaccination.
Iceland had watched cases peter out until just recently: The domestic 14-day incidence rate - recorded separately from border cases - rose to 83.7; for cases upon entry, it was 16.1 in the same period.
Each of the past few days has seen a few dozen new infections being recorded, a significant figure for an island with a population of just 360,000.
Australian Associated Press
