Living with Covid: five countries that decided it was time to open up

Danes can now enter nightclubs and restaurants without presenting a ‘Covid passport’, use public transport without wearing face coverings and meet in large numbers without restrictions – essentially reverting to pre-life life. pandemic.

Part of the key to Denmark’s success lies in its roll-out of vaccination: As of September 13, more than 74% of the Danish population was fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to Our World in Data.

The transmission rate, or R rate, currently stands at 0.7, Health Minister Magnus Heunicke tweeted on Wednesday, meaning the epidemic continues to decline. If it is above 1.0, the cases of Covid-19 will increase in the near future. If it is less than 1.0, the cases will decrease in the near future.

“Vaccines and all the citizens in Denmark’s great efforts over a long period of time are the basis for us to do so well,” Heunicke said.

Despite such optimism, Heunicke warned last month when the government announced the expected end date of the restrictions. “Even if we are well placed at the moment, we are not out of the epidemic. And the government will not hesitate to act quickly if the pandemic again threatens important functions of our society,” he said. declared.

Singapore: tries to live with Covid, but Delta is not helping

The Singapore government announced in June that it plans to move to a life strategy with Covid – trying to control outbreaks with vaccines and monitor hospitalizations rather than restricting the lives of citizens.

“The bad news is that Covid-19 might never go away. The good news is that it is possible to live normally with it among us,” Singapore’s top Covid-19 officials wrote in an op-ed to the era.

Authorities began relaxing some restrictions in August, allowing fully vaccinated people to dine in restaurants and meet in groups of five, up from two previously.

Singapore’s Covid-19 task force said it will try to limit the outbreak through more aggressive contact tracing, ‘entrenchment’ cases and clusters, and more frequent mandatory testing for high-risk workers .

Singapore pursued an aggressive “zero Covid strategy” before changing its approach, and has one of the highest Covid-19 vaccination rates in the world, with 81% of the population fully vaccinated.

Thailand: vaccination is slow but it opens anyway

As part of the expanded program, tourists fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and engaging in a testing regime will be allowed into the capital, Hua Hin, Pattaya and Chiang Mai, according to Reuters.

The island of Phuket reopened its doors to foreign visitors vaccinated on July 1 without a quarantine requirement. On July 15, the country launched a similar program on the islands of Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Tao, dubbed “Samui Plus”.

Although it has kept the number of infections low in 2020 thanks to successful containment measures, Thailand has struggled to control cases this year.

Immunization rates are lagging behind those of some neighbors. Just under 18% of the Thai population was fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as of September 13, according to Our World in Data, with an additional 21% partially vaccinated.

South Africa: restrictions eased, but Delta remains a threat

Among other measures, the nationwide nighttime curfew has been reduced to 11 p.m. until 4 a.m., the size of permitted gatherings has increased to 250 people indoors and 500 outdoors, and restrictions on alcohol sales have been further reduced.

Ramaphosa warned that a devastating third wave of infections caused by the more transmissible Delta variant was not over, but added that the country now has enough doses of the vaccine to cover the entire adult population. , with more than a quarter of adults receiving at least one dose.

He encouraged everyone to get vaccinated and comply with the remaining restrictions to allow the country to return to normal.

“The third wave is not over yet, and it is only through our individual and collective actions that we will be able to reduce the number of new infections,” he said.

Chile: High vaccination rates mean tourists can come back

The country has already started distributing boosters to those who are fully immunized. Health officials on Thursday approved the use of China’s Sinovac vaccine for children aged six and older; inoculations started on Monday.

Despite the threat posed by the Delta variant, the government on Wednesday announced measures to reopen the country to international tourism from October 1, just in time for the southern hemisphere nation’s summer season.

Non-resident foreigners will be able to enter provided they meet certain conditions and isolate themselves for five days upon arrival.

“The fact that foreign tourists can come to Chile is an important step for the resumption of inbound tourism,” said Under Secretary of Tourism José Luis Uriarte. “It is important to stress that this is the first step, and we can continue to move forward as long as we maintain good health conditions.”