Health

Iceland’s prime minister tests positive for COVID-19

Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir has tested positive for COVID-19 after contracting the virus from a family member, she announced on Facebook on Saturday.

“My youngest son tested positive for COVID-19 on February 1. Since then, another member of our household has also contracted the virus, so it was no great surprise when I tested positive last night,” she wrote in a post.

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Jakobsdottir, 46, will isolate at home for at least five days, in line with recommendations in Iceland.

The subarctic island nation has registered a record more than 2,000 daily COVID-19 cases on average over the past four days, but hospital admissions have remained stable.

The country of 370,000 people has registered a total of 85,980 cases and 54 deaths linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to latest figures released on Friday.

On Saturday, Iceland eased some coronavirus restrictions – including limits on crowd numbers and restaurant opening hours – and will lift all measures at the end of the month.

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