Iceland is experiencing its worst Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.
That’s despite near-total vaccination levels. And what Delta’s doing there may now be a sign of things to come for Australia.
The small island nation of 357,000 citizens has become a case study of the effectiveness of vaccination against the Delta mutation.
Some 96 per cent of all Icelandic women over 16 have received at least one vaccine dose. The figure for men is about 90 per cent.
In total, 86 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated.
It is an outstanding result – so much so, the Reykjavík government felt they had this pandemic beaten.
In June, they rolled back social distancing, mask and travel restrictions.
But those restrictions have been reimposed as a Covid-19 Delta outbreak has sent case numbers soaring.
And even with a significantly reduced rate of severe illness, the explosive outbreak is seriously straining the tiny nation’s health system