Denmark removes all restrictions from 1 February
– Tonight we can start lowering our shoulders. We can remove the latest coronary restrictions in Denmark, says Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
– With what we know now, we dare to believe that we are through the most critical phase, says the Prime Minister at a press conference on Wednesday night. The government wants to remove covid-19’s status as a socially critical disease. From 1 February, all coronary restrictions in Denmark will cease.
– One of the most important is how many Danes are seriously ill with corona. With joint efforts, we have succeeded in breaking the connection between the number of infected and the number of Danes who become seriously ill and hospitalized with corona, she says.
More than 3.5 million Danes have reached the third stage of vaccination. It is one of the main reasons why society can go back to normal.
– Thanks! says Fredriksen.
She says you still have to be careful when you are with vulnerable people in society.
Requirements for bandages, display of coronary passports and the like may be relevant when visiting nursing homes and institutions.
– We must take into account those who are vulnerable. Everyone must feel safe in an open Denmark.
– We are on the verge of a better situation, says the Prime Minister.
– The first phase is the rest of the winter. Restrictions lapse, vaccination continues. It may be appropriate to give fourth stabs to vulnerable groups.
There will be free entry to Denmark for vaccinated or previously infected. Only the unvaccinated should be able to present a negative test, according to Ministry of Health.
Mette Frederiksen asks people to find the good mood through the winter.
– It can be difficult, but the alternative to the opening would be that restrictions that are no longer proportional, she says.
Great degree of immunity
– There are two reasons why the restrictions can now be lifted, says Søren Brostrøm. He is the director of the National Board of Health, Denmark’s highest public health authority.
– First, the omicron variant is less pathogenic. Secondly, we now have a high degree of immunity in society. This is due to both vaccines and widespread infection, he says.
Brostrøm estimates that at least 80 percent of the population is very well protected against serious diseases.
Can be tough weeks
Denmark can expect rising infection rates in the near future. That’s what Tyra Krause from the Statens Serum Institut says.
– But there are no alarm bells ringing when it comes to seriously ill people hospitalized. Just like the next few weeks will be tough because many will get sick and have to stay home, she states.
Krause says there will be new variants of the virus because covid-19 mutates, but that the Statens Serum Institut will keep a close eye on the situation.
– We do not ease the monitoring, but now it looks really reassuring, she says.