Photo: Hucopix / PFD Media

Reykjavík getting the ‘upper hand’ on coronavirus

30 March 2020

by Christopher Carey

Since early February, Iceland has been offering free coronavirus (COVID-19) testing to any member of the public concerned about the disease–even those showing no symptoms.

The Nordic island nation–which has a population of 364,000–has followed South Korea’s example of testing as many people as possible and tracking those who have come into contact with coronavirus carriers.

To date, over 12,000 people have been tested–one of the highest per capita rates in the world–and out of 1,020 confirmed cases just two people have died.

“We are testing as much as we can, and it looks like we have the upper hand at the moment,” Óskar J Sandholt, Reykjavík’s chief innovation officer told Cities Today.

There has been no nationwide lockdown however, and social distancing measures are still relatively liberal compared to the rest of Europe with people urged–but not required–to stay at home. Gatherings of under 20 people are still permitted.

In his role, Sandholt is now responsible for shifting as many of Reykjavík’s 9,000 city employees from the office to home-working.

“Everybody who can work from home is, and we are fortunate here in Reykjavik to have an excellent broadband infrastructure, which is now proving to be vital,” he added.

Out of 9,000 city staff, almost 3,000 now spend the majority of their days working from home. Reykjavík’s 5,000 teachers however, are still in class–bucking the trend of school closures seen in other European cities.

“The biggest challenge for us so far has been getting workers used to the digital switch,” he said. “Many people were happy with the way things were, and are now having to change to adapt everything to remote-working.”

“This crisis will force you to do something new and change the way you work, and we have an opportunity to see what works well and what we can keep going into the future.”

He credits Iceland’s success in managing the outbreak to its early response to testing, and the proactive approach to engaging with the public.

The city has launched a coronavirus website that informs the public of the latest news related to the virus, and has actively used social networking platforms to keep people up to date.

In January, Reykjavík joined Bloomberg Philanthropies’ new digital innovation programme with 20 other European capitals.

The network aims to accelerate digital growth and provide cities with expert technical assistance, including design support for a range of areas–but the coronavirus outbreak has now narrowed its mandate.

“We were supposed to meet in London the week before last but had to change it to an online meeting,” he said. “During our discussions I learned that this crisis differs a lot from city to city, and managing the transition to remote working can depend heavily on your current digital infrastructure.”

*If you are a CIO, mobility head, or sustainable/resilience officer of a city and would like to contribute and share your experiences with your peers regarding the coronavirus pandemic, please email: editorial@cities-today.com to speak with one of the Cities Today team

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