COVID: Denmark shuts down more cultural life

Copenhagen, Denmark | Xinhua | After the fifth day in a row of record numbers of COVID infections, on Friday the Danish government announced it would implement restrictions on social contact.

With 11,194 infections in Denmark in the last 24 hours, the Parliament’s Epidemics Committee confirmed that new restrictions will enter into force from 8 am this Sunday until Jan. 17, 2022.

“We need to curb activity. We must all limit our social contact. However, our goal is still to keep large parts of society open as much as possible,” said the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in a joint press conference Friday.

The new restrictions include the closure of cinemas, museums, zoos and sporting events. Restaurants will also only be able to serve up to 10 pm.

“There is a particularly high risk of the spread of infection in places where many gather for a longer period of time,” said Minister of Health Magnus Heunicke at the press conference.

In addition, Heunicke revealed that a total of 11,559 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus have so far been reported in Denmark.

“The rules of the game have been changed by the Omicron variant, and therefore we will have to react now,” added the prime minister.

To soften the economic blow to businesses, the prime minister promised financial compensation for those affected by the restrictions.

“Those parts of the business and cultural life which are affected will have access to compensation as long as the restrictions apply,” said Frederiksen.

Alongside the record-breaking new COVID-19 infection figure, which includes 454 re-infections, the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) also registered a further three new deaths. This brings the cumulative national totals to 600,468 cases and 3,054 deaths.

The SSI also reports that currently 4,505,271 people in Denmark are fully vaccinated, or 76.7 percent of the population. Meanwhile, 1,581,477 people, or 26.9 percent of the population, have received a booster shot.