There's a real post-COVID world to visit
In Iceland, people make their own choices, says L.D. Cross.
In April 2022, I left paranoid pandemic Canada. It was the first time I had travelled internationally since February 2020. As a lockdown hermit, I could not wait to fly somewhere, anywhere again.
I went to Iceland for a conference. Participants came from 18 different countries. It was real-world immersion. Bare-faced people all over the place. What a joy to be free again.
Because our Icelandair flight left from Canada, we were forced to wear masks on board. But no masks at Keflavik Airport, nor in the eight-passenger transfer van to Reykjavik. No mandatory masks at the hotel, the conference, restaurants, stores, bars, or on bus tours. They were optional. My ears were thrilled not to have to participate in holding up a pseudo-protective face diaper.
If you feel the need to mask up, you are free to do so. Most of the people I saw in Iceland wearing masks appeared to be North American tourists.
On Feb. 25, 2022, the Icelandic government lifted all COVID prevention measures at the border, regardless of vaccination status. Travellers are not required to register prior to boarding, get tested pre- or post-arrival, or quarantine. Nor are residents forced to distance, wear masks, or get tested. Individual personal infection prevention measures are encouraged.
With a population of just more than 345,000, Iceland reports 186,179 infections and 120 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic began. Some 78 per cent of Iceland's adults are fully vaccinated against COVID, or 91 per cent of those 12 years of age and older. And 54 per cent have a third booster shot.
Clearly, Icelanders have not been dying in the streets. Or, as in Canada, dying in longterm-don't-care warehouses. Ontario, with its draconian repetitive lockdowns, has had a death rate of 87.8 per 100,000. In Iceland, its 34 per 100,000.
They protect their vulnerable, provide medical guidance to the healthy, let people decide and accept the consequences.
So, what's going on here? Are Icelanders more robust than compliant Canucks? Maybe, but it is their attitude, not their acquiescence. They protect their vulnerable, provide medical guidance to the healthy, let people decide and accept the consequences. What a concept of personal responsibility not seen here.
Give a Canadian a choice between personal security or personal freedom and the majority choose security every time. Freedom and responsibility are scary. Following orders and staying “safe,” whatever that means, is priority one here.
Governments must take care of us. Cost is no excuse. Condemn us to lockdowns, mask up, stay apart, but come together to be tested, tested, tested. You protect yourself and others by doing what you are told by our medico-politico aristocracy as seen on TV.
When, in the middle of our conference, the co-founder's husband tested positive for COVID and worked from home, she got tested, was negative and continued participating by donning a mask. Attendees did not leave. COVID is a fact of life.
Is Iceland just COVID-lucky, the result of a small population on an island? No. It took a rational look at the viral threat, reacted to address the elderly and immunocompromised and inform the able-bodied.
I returned on Icelandair masked, of course. I hesitate to say “home” because for the past two years Canada has been my prison. Were it not for a scheduled provincial election on June 2, all mandates would still be in full force.
But there is still that superfluous ArriveCAN registration. Another control mechanism. Whenever you take a flight, all countries can access passenger manifest data as a universal practice. It makes it easier to identity bodies in case of a crash. Now when you land, Canada collects it again as you check yourself in electronically at a Toronto arrivals terminal. A triple replay to discourage travel.
As the saying goes, when you travel, the best souvenir is a broader perspective. More Canadians need to travel. Try Iceland.