Coronavirus cases account for 0.36% of the nation's population, which is much higher than the US,Iceland's case count could be so proportionately high because they have taken a radical approach to testing. Even people without symptoms may take a test.
In order to expand its testing abilities, Iceland's government teamed up with Reykjavik-based deCODE Genetics, which is a subsidiary of the US-based biotechnology company Amgen. "There is also another reason, no less important, we have pursued a very aggressive policy of quarantine for individuals — suspected to be at risk of having contracted the virus — for much longer and at a higher scale than most other countries we are aware of," the organization told CNN.that Iceland's small population allows the government to have higher testing capabilities.
"We have been writing up response plans anticipating this event coming," he said in an interview. "We have been preparing different partners in the society for this to happen, and so it's relatively easy for us to activate the plan."