ICELAND MODEL: NTU experts said that testing people upon arrival ‘is already unavoidable’ and that making sure people who leave are not infected would also help

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 30, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Health experts yesterday called for all people who enter or leave Taiwan to be tested for COVID-19, following a model that Iceland has implemented to boost its economy.

Iceland has become a model of coronavirus prevention efforts after going from a high rate of infection in March to having only a handful of new cases now, National Taiwan University (NTU) College of Public Health dean Chan Chang-chuan (詹長權) told a news briefing in Taipei.

Since June 15, people arriving in Iceland have been able to choose between a COVID-19 test and isolation for two weeks, Chan said.

In the first two weeks of the program, tests were given free of charge, but starting tomorrow, people arriving would need to pay about 15,000 Icelandic krona (US$108.80) for a single test, the Icelandic Directorate of Immigration said in a statement on June 9.    [FULL  STORY]