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Copenhagen (AFP)
With no masks in sight, bustling offices and concerts attracting tens of thousands of people, Denmark on Friday abandons vaccine passports in nightclubs, thus putting an end to its latest Covid brake.
Vaccine passports were introduced in March 2021 when Copenhagen slowly began to ease restrictions.
They were removed from all locations on September 1, except nightclubs, where they will no longer be needed as of Friday.
“We are definitely at the forefront in Denmark because we have no restrictions, and we are now on the other side of the pandemic thanks to the roll-out of vaccination,” Ulrik Orum-Petersen told AFP , a promoter of Live Nation event organizer.
On Saturday, a sold-out concert in Copenhagen will welcome 50,000 people, a first in Europe.
Already on September 4, Live Nation organized a first open-air festival, aptly named “Back to Live”, which brought together 15,000 people in Copenhagen.
“Being in the crowd, singing like before, it almost made me forget about Covid and everything we’ve been through the last few months,” said Emilie Bendix, 26, a regular at concerts.
Denmark’s vaccination campaign has proceeded swiftly, with 73 percent of the 5.8 million population fully vaccinated and 96 percent of those 65 and over.
– ‘Aim for free movement’ –
“We are aiming for free movement … What will happen now is that the virus will circulate and it will find those who are not vaccinated,” epidemiologist Lone Simonsen told AFP.
“Now the virus is no longer a societal threat, thanks to the vaccine,” said Simonsen, who works at Roskilde University.
According to the World Health Organization, the Scandinavian country has benefited from public compliance with government directives and the adopted Covid strategy.
“Like many countries, Denmark has, throughout the pandemic, implemented public health and social measures to reduce transmission. But at the same time, it has relied heavily on individuals and communities to comply. voluntarily, “said Catherine Smallwood, WHO Europe’s emergency manager.
With around 500 daily cases of Covid and a reproduction rate of 0.7, Danish authorities say they have the virus under control.
Health Minister Magnus Heunicke, however, pledged that the government would not hesitate to quickly reimpose restrictions if necessary.
The authorities insist that the return to normal life must be accompanied by strict hygiene measures and isolation of sick people.
WHO still considers the global situation to be critical and calls for caution.
“Each country must remain vigilant as the epidemiological situation changes,” Smallwood said.
Denmark said it will closely monitor the number of hospitalizations – just under 130 at the moment – and do meticulous sequencing to track the virus.
A third dose has also been available for groups at risk since Thursday.
Simonsen said vaccines have so far provided immunity against the variants “but if escape (vaccine resistant) variants were to emerge, we will have to rethink our strategy.”
Christian Nedergaard, who owns several restaurants and wine bars in Copenhagen, said that while everyone is looking forward to a return to normal life, “the situation remains complicated”.
“The memory of the coronavirus will fade very quickly from the minds of some people but not everyone, and for restaurants this period has certainly been a game-changer,” he said.
“The industry needs to think about how to become more resilient.”
Travelers entering Denmark must always present either a vaccination passport or a negative PCR test, and masks are mandatory at airports.
© 2021 AFP
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