One year since Faroes went into partial lockdown

Today is the one-year anniversary of the first announcement of official measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Travel restrictions were introduced, schools shut down and public-sector workers were asked to work from home.

All indoor events with more than 100 people gathered were cancelled, and nightlife establishments were told to close at 10pm.

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Reflecting on the past year, Prime Minister Bárður á Steig Nielsen said today that he is generally satisfied with how the Faroese health authorities and, not least, the Faroese people have dealt with the pandemic.

“Compared to how many other countries have handled this situation, I think as a country we can be satisfied with how things have turned out,” he said.

“I am particularly pleased with how each one of us has stepped up and taken responsibility by adapting to the new situation and taking good care of the people around us. This is the key reason why we have done so well to fight off this virus.”

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He added that it is crucial that we continue to respect the health guidelines while we are waiting for the vaccination programme to take full effect.

“We will issue updated guidelines after Easter. These guidelines will be based on the infection rates at that time and on how the vaccination programme is progressing,” he said.

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The first Covid case in the Faroes was registered on 3 March when a man from Hoyvík tested positive after returning from a trip to Paris.

A total of 660 people have tested positive since the outbreak. One person has died from Covid-related causes. About 235,000 tests have been conducted. This is the second-highest per capita number of tests in the world. Only Gibraltar has a higher total.

The latest vaccination figures on corona.fo, updated this morning, show that 4,901 people (9.2 percent of the population) have received the first shot of the vaccine, while 3,931 (7.4 percent) have received the second shot.

For further information about Covid-19 in the Faroes, visit corona.fo.

Read the Faroese version of this article here

Translated by prosa.fo

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