So, what about this year? It was not very good, was it? If nothing else, it was certainly newsworthy, even though one topic over another has dominated the last 12 months: the fifth and final season of She-Ra, Princesses of Power.
Or so we would hope, in our wildest dreams. It was SARS-CoV-2, better known as the coronavirus, that robbed most of our headlines this year and threw this country into a health, social and economic crisis. However, that is not the only thing that happened, so let’s break down the main news in Iceland 2020, month by month.
January
This year was called in tragically as the first big news in Iceland in 2020 were three avalanches in one night in the Westfjords. On the night of January 14, two avalanches hit Flateyri and one in Súgandafjörður, opposite Suðureyri, in a very short time, one after the other at midnight during the night. Fortunately, there were no deaths, but they proved devastating to the area’s infrastructure and required government emergency assistance. Later in the month, another avalanche hit Mt. Esja took the life of a hiker.
February
February continued the theme of natural disasters. First, a series of earthquakes in Reykjanes that were felt strongly in the capital area and other factors indicated increased activity of the mountain. Þorbjörn volcano. Finally, it has not erupted – yet. Days later, a cycle in this country brought with it the worst weather for many years and caused one death.
March
Although the first confirmed case of the coronary virus in Iceland took place on 28 February, it was March that defined the beginning of Iceland’s role in the pandemic. Just this month, the first quarantine was ordered, the first death was announced and Iceland first closed its borders to non-EEA nationals. Coordinated team in the event of a pandemic, led by Alma Möller, Director of Health, Þórólfur Guðnason, Chief Medical Officer and Viðir Reynisson, Chief of Civil Defense, in a coordinated collaboration with the founder and CEO of deCODE Kári Stefánsson.
April
As flights to and from Iceland were severely restricted, Iceland’s economy was effectively torpedoed. An enormous part of the Icelandic economy is based on tourism and suffocation in any way to or from the country created a major unemployment crisis. This subsequently encouraged the government to envisage a partial employment arrangement whereby unemployment benefits were extended to those who were affected or became unemployed. Unfortunately, the frequency of domestic violence also increased this month, and the number of such cases doubled from the previous year.
May
Icelandair fluctuated on the verge of bankruptcy, which only underlined the concerns of the tourism industry during the summer, usually high season in Iceland. However, the pandemic restrictions imposed in the spring seemed to work well, so the government announced later this month that it would reopen the country, in full, to tourists. Although there was great joy over the decision, many expressed concern that many questions remained unanswered, in particular how Iceland would deal with tourists who arrived who were found to be infected with the coronavirus.
June
On 15 June, the Icelandic government began allowing Schengen citizens to visit Iceland for essential travel, with a further announcement that non-Schengen citizens would be allowed on 1 July. This led to the establishment of border control at Keflavík Airport and the port of call in Seyðisfjörður for the ferry from Europe. This month, however, was marked by a tragedy in which a fire broke out through a house in West Reykjavík and killed three people. Further investigations revealed that the house was crowded, unsuitable for living and illegally registered as living. This led to protests calling for greater protection for foreign workers, as all the residents of the house were immigrants. This month was also Iceland’s first participation in Black Lives Matter and 4,000 people attended it.
July
July began with some hope, as the EU agreed to admit 15 non-Schengen countries (not including the United States) and Iceland did the same. Unfortunately, things were less hopeful for Icelandair’s flight attendants, who were fired in wage negotiations and other issues, which caused harsh criticism from unions over the method. Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Iceland Jeffrey Ross Gunter made headlines for all the wrong reasons. From all possible racism on his public Twitter account, to the lack of embassy services, to reports that he wanted to start a gun, US citizens in Iceland began calling for his removal. But since the president who appointed him is on his way out, Gunter’s days are still numbered. The month ended with increased restrictions on coronary heart disease, as it was revealed that the restrictions were relaxed last June.
August
August was a mysterious month. Our top story for the whole month was a video of a possible crypto that was seen in Iceland (which was probably a tripod). Double screening at the border was set up, but many visitors to Iceland were not aware of it at all. As the summer wore on, the northern lights returned, which was well received.
September
This month saw a real turnaround for a family of six from Egypt, including four children, who sought refuge in Iceland in Iceland but were deported. This was despite having lived in the country for more than two years, which caused a considerable setback for the public. As their expulsion day approached, they went into hiding and Icelanders began to troll the police with false routes about where they were. Finally, they were granted asylum for humanitarian reasons at the end of the month.
October
The U.S. Air Force has been criticized for terrorizing (or at least actively annoying) Akureyri residents by boiling people’s houses and blowing up the aftermath of their jets. A magnitude 5.7 earthquake shook Reykjanes, which was felt over southwestern Iceland. What was most interesting about this was the reactions of Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir and Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson, Member of Parliament for Pírata, but the former shrugged his shoulders while he was in a live broadcast interview with the Washington Post, but the latter volunteered.
November
A TV commercial for the telecommunications company Nova went viral for having several individuals naked in all sorts of body shapes. Although nudity is not outright taboo in Iceland, it was an uncommon market choice and the video became a sensation in the international media. Meanwhile, Robert Burke, admiral and commander of the US Navy in Europe and Africa, discussed in an interview the possibility of finding a submarine search team in Iceland. Not exactly well received by a country that prides itself on not having a standing army.
December
2020 ended just as it began: with natural disasters. In this case, landslides in Seyðisfjörður destroyed 14 homes and caused the evacuation of the entire town. Surprisingly no one was injured and soon more residents were allowed to return home, although many others had to wait much longer before they could return home. Finally, the Minister of Finance, Bjarni Benediktsson, has become embroiled in a scandal for joining a party that was broken up by the police for violating restrictions on the coronary virus. Bjarni denies any wrongdoing, but it has encouraged many MPs to call for a dissolution of the government and early elections – both of which are unlikely.
Here it is hoped that 2021 will bode well for Iceland and all of us.
Source: The Nordic Page