COPENHAGEN, Denmark – After 548 days with restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19, Denmark’s high vaccination rate has allowed the Scandinavian country to become one of the first countries in the European Union to lift all national restrictions .
The return to normalcy has been gradual, but from Friday onwards it is no longer necessary to go digital – a proof of having been vaccinated – when entering nightclubs, which makes it the ultimate protection against the virus. fall into it.
More than 80% of people over the age of 12 have received both shots.
“I would not say it’s too early. We’ve opened the door, but we’ve also said we can close it if necessary, ”Soeren Riis Paludan, a professor of virology at Aarhus University in Denmark’s second largest city, told The Associated Press.
At midnight, the Danish government no longer considers COVID-19 “a socially critical disease.” Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on August 27 that “the epidemic is under control”, but warned: “We are not out of the epidemic” and the government will act if necessary, if necessary.
Jens Lundgren, a professor of viral diseases at Copenhagen University Hospital, said the government would be “quite willing” to reintroduce restrictions if infections were to rise again. He noted that nightclubs were the last to be opened because “it is the activity associated with the highest risk of transmission.”
“The world is in the middle of a pandemic and none of us can claim that we are beyond the pandemic,” said Lundgren, who described Denmark as “an isolated island” where vaccine implementation has worked.
“No one should have the illusion that we are for that.”
The turning point in Denmark to start easing restrictions was when a majority of the age group over 50 had both shots, Riis Paludan said.
As of August 14, a face mask on public transportation is no longer mandatory. On September 1, nightclubs reopened, the limits of public meetings were removed, and it was no longer mandatory to show the pass when you wanted to sit inside restaurants or go to football games, gyms, or hair salon.
However, a face mask or shield is still mandatory at airports and people are advised to take one to a doctor, testing center or hospital. Distancing is still recommended and strict entry restrictions are still applied to non-Danes at the borders. The outbreak is still considered “an ordinary dangerous disease.”
“The ghost of the crown is in the back of our heads,” said Frank Oestergaard, a patron of a restaurant in central Copenhagen.
After more than a year, several European countries are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but with warnings. Some have lifted the restrictions, but will introduce a vaccination passport. Others hope to do so soon. And in some places, there are few restrictions and they are not respected.
On July 19, the British government lifted the remaining legal restrictions for England, although it still plans to introduce a vaccination passport for entry to nightclubs and other crowded venues in late September.
In Sweden, Denmark’s neighbor, which has stood out among European nations for its comparative response to the pandemic, the government said earlier this month that most of the restrictions, including the ceiling for private and public meetings and tips for working from home, will do so will be withdrawn from September 29th.
The Scandinavian country has not entered into closures or closed companies, but relied on the sense of civic duty of citizens to control infections. According to official figures, 70% of people over the age of 15 have received both shots and almost 82% have received the first shot.
And despite the increase, most Balkan countries have virtually no restrictions and those in place are not respected.
In late May, the Danish government presented the passport application with a QR code and a green bar if the person has been vaccinated twice or has been negative recently. A paper version was also available. People had to scan the code or pass it on before entering an airport, a port, a train station, a hairdresser or a restaurant.
Although in many European countries there were pockets of resistance, people used it all the time in Denmark because people trusted the authorities, Riis Paludan said.
Armed with his pass, people were able to cut their hair, have a drink with friends or attend a cultural event. “It was about regaining freedom instead of having to sit at home in isolation,” Oestergaard laughed.
“I think it’s very good, so I hope we can return to a normal day in the restaurant business without checking people and without any restrictions. It’s okay, ”said cafe owner Ralph Marker.