Denmark lifts all remaining Covid-19 restrictions

Denmark has lifted the last of its Covid-19 restrictions, which means a return to offices, no masks and an end to vaccine passports in nightclubs.

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 today.

“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 rollout of vaccination,” said Ulrik Orum-Petersen, promoter of the organizer of the Live Nation event.

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 proceeded quickly, with 73% of 5.8 million people fully vaccinated and 96% of those 65 and over.

“We are aiming for free movement (…) What will happen now is that the virus will circulate and that it will find those who are not vaccinated,” said epidemiologist Lone Simonsen.

“Now the virus is no longer a societal threat, thanks to the vaccine,” said Ms. 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.

Denmark said it would closely monitor the number of hospitalizations – just under 130 at the moment – and do meticulous sequencing to track the virus.

The number of Covid cases in Australia exceeds 1,900

Daily cases of Covid-19 in Australia topped 1,900 for the first time in the pandemic as an outbreak fueled by the highly infectious Delta variant continued to gain traction in the locked cities of Sydney and Melbourne, its most big cities.

Australia is in the throes of a third wave of infections with the Delta outbreak forcing authorities to abandon their Covid-zero strategy in favor of removing the virus.

They are now aiming to start relaxing the strict restrictions after reaching a higher proportion of the population with double-dose vaccinations.

New South Wales (NSW), the epicenter of the country’s worst outbreak, reported 1,542 new local cases daily, beating the previous record of 1,533 affected last week. Nine new deaths were recorded.

“So far this trajectory is what has been predicted,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said at a press conference in Sydney, the state capital, where cases are expected to reach a peak. peak next week.

Ms Berejiklian said the daily Covid-19 press briefing would be removed from Monday and updates would be detailed in an online video, an approach previously used when the number of cases was low.

The increase in cases in Sydney has increased the burden on ambulance personnel, as the number of Covid-19 patients carried doubling in the past two weeks to nearly 6,000, officials said.

Some 1,156 people are hospitalized in the state, including 207 in intensive care, of which 89 require ventilation.

Despite cases lingering near record highs, authorities in New South Wales said yesterday that Sydney businesses could reopen if the state’s adult population is fully vaccinated, a target expected to be met by mid- October.

So far, 76% of people over 16 in the state have received at least one dose, while 44% have been fully immunized.

Victoria state recorded 334 new cases, its largest increase for this year, and one death. Some restrictions in the capital Melbourne will be relaxed when 70% of the adult population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, expected around 23 September.

A four-step national reopening plan unveiled by the federal government in July aims to ease several difficult restrictions once the country hits a 70-80% vaccination target from 40% now.

However, some virus-free states have signaled they may delay easing restrictions on interstate travel and other restrictions.

The total number of infections in Australia is around 70,000 cases, including 1,076 deaths. Higher vaccinations kept the death rate at 0.41% in the Delta outbreak, data shows, below previous outbreaks.

Experts suggest ‘bolder’ strategy in Singapore

Singapore is stepping up testing for Covid-19, warned it would not rule out reimposing tighter restrictions as infections rise in a move some experts see too cautious for the vaccine precursor preparing to live with it the virus as an endemic disease.

With infections doubling every week due to the highly contagious Delta variant, the government is predicting up to 2,000 daily cases in a month based on the current trajectory.

However, over 90% of new cases are either asymptomatic or with very mild symptoms. Those who are clinically good but still positive are isolated in institutions.

The government has previously said it plans to pilot home isolation for those fully vaccinated.

“Despite vaccination coverage of over 80% (…) and a very low number of severe cases as a result, (Singaporeans) are now being told they need to go back to more restrictions again,” Cook said. , an infectious. disease modeling expert at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

“There is a risk that such ambiguity could affect adherence to the guidelines in the future.”