Iceland relaxes COVID-19 restrictions for the arts, allows rehearsals to resume
Iceland has relaxed some of its COVID-19 restrictions for the arts, allowing performers, musicians and filmmakers to resume rehearsals as of August 28.
“This authorization gives artists the opportunity to resume their rehearsals, once the disease control measures have been met,” said Lilja Alfredsdottir, Iceland’s minister of Education and Culture, in a news release.
“It’s extremely important for a large and diverse group of creative people who need to carry out their tasks and be able to organize cultural activities in the coming months. I’m optimistic that artists will use this permission to rehearse responsibly.”
The public health directives in place will mirror the requirements in place for sports activities since August 14 which allow contact in sport between athletes during training and competitions, but where the two-metre social distancing rule is sill expected to be followed in all other contexts including in change rooms.
The maximum number of people in the same place remains at 100 individuals.
Reevaluation in two weeks
That changes will be in effect until September 10.
Since February 28, Iceland has reported 2,092 confirmed COVID-19 infections and 10 deaths.
As of Friday, health authorities reported 18.8 infections per 100,000 people over the last 14 days.
Write to Eilís Quinn at eilis.quinn(at)cbc.ca
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My own opinion is that if that could be the case, the outbreak would be more intense.