COVID-19 pandemic in Iceland

The COVID-19 pandemic in Iceland was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached Iceland in February 2020. As of 4 June 2022^[update], the total number of cases registered was 188,924, of which 153 deaths had occurred.^[3] With a total population of about 370,000 (as of 21 February 2022),^[4] the infection rate is about one case per four inhabitants; the infection rate was one of the highest in the world throughout March and April in 2021, though this was attributed to more tests having been carried out per capita in Iceland than any other country, including a screening of the general population run by Icelandic biotech company deCODE genetics to determine the true spread of the virus in the community.^[5]

Iceland is unique in that for each identified case of COVID-19, the genome of the virus having caused the infection is sequenced; the sequencing is carried out by deCODE genetics, which has been able to confirm that the so-called "British variant" B.1.1.7 (Alpha) is present in the country, whereas the "South African variant" B.1.351 (Beta) is not;^[6] the "Brazilian variant" B.1.1.248 (Gamma) is thought, but not yet confirmed, to have arrived in Iceland as of 22 March 2021,^[7] while the "Indian variant" Lineage B.1.617.2 (Delta) was first confirmed in tourists entering the country on 18 June 2021.^[8]