Denmark has announced that it will lift all remaining restrictions on COVID-19 on September 10, according to The Guardian.
The country’s health ministry said the virus “is no longer a critical threat to society” due to Denmark’s vaccination rate, which is the third highest in the European Union, with 71% of the population. population that has received the shot, The Guardian reported.
“The epidemic is under control, we have record vaccination levels,” Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said in a statement on Friday. “That’s why we can abandon the special rules we had to introduce in the fight against COVID-19.”
Heunicke clarified that while the country is now in a stable enough place to remove restrictions, the government would not hesitate to “act quickly” if cases start to escalate.
The Danish government’s decision to proclaim that the virus is no longer a “critical threat” after September 10 effectively removes the legal basis for restrictions on companies and other establishments such as museums and sports venues, told The Guardian a spokesman for the health ministry.
Denmark, which was one of the first European countries to impose a closure in March 2020, enacted a nationwide shutdown last December as coronavirus cases began to rise during the holidays.
The country launched coronavirus passports for vaccinated residents this spring as part of its reopening effort.