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Which countries are people from Denmark travelling to post-corona shutdown?

Denmark has begun to open its borders again, allowing travel to and from the majority of European countries and some travel from further afield.

Which countries are people from Denmark travelling to post-corona shutdown?
Photo: Jaime Reina/AFP/Ritzau Scanpix

Figures released by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs show that people currently registered with the ministry when travelling abroad are most likely to be headed for Germany, broadcaster DR reports.

Over 47,000 people are registered on the so-called ‘danskerliste’ (list of Danes), where Danish citizens can register their whereabouts with the foreign ministries when they go abroad.

Registration on list enables the Danish foreign ministry to contact citizens or send vital information if critical situations occur at locations where they are travelling.

Asian, African and South American countries typically figure highly on the list, but it now reflects the impact of the coronavirus crisis on tourism, with the foreign ministry still advising against non-essential travel outside of Europe.

Every single one of the countries with the highest number of registrations as of Tuesday morning is in Europe, DR reports.

The broadcaster reports the ten countries with the highest number of registrations on July 21st as Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Croatia, Greece, Norway, Iceland, Austria and Sweden.

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An ambassador for the ministry’s Citizens’ Service (Borgerservice) praised the trend evidenced by the registration facility.

“It’s positive for us to see that Danes are actually listening to the advisories we are issuing,” Uffe Wolffhechel told DR.

Registration on the list is voluntary, so data taken from it may not provide an accurate representation of Danes’ current travel habits.

“But I would suppose that the majority of travellers are registering because there has been a lot of special attention given to it. Everyone knows we are still living in times of corona,” Wolffhechel added.

Lars Thykier, CEO with the Association of Danish Travel Agents and Tour Operators (Danmarks Rejsebureau Forening), said the figures spoke not just about the destinations where Danes are currently holidaying, but how the registration list itself is perceived and used.

“The (list) is actually intended to be something you use when you are outside the EU. But the past five months' experiences with Covid-19 have have resulted in people realising that a (registration list) for Danes exists, and they are registering, even on short trips away from Denmark. It’s an innovation,” Thykier said to DR.

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COVID-19

IN NUMBERS: Has the Omicron Covid-19 wave peaked in Denmark?

The number of new Covid-19 infections fell on Saturday for the second day in a row, following a three-day plateau at the start of last week. Has the omicron wave peaked?

IN NUMBERS: Has the Omicron Covid-19 wave peaked in Denmark?
Graffiti in the Copenhagen hippy enclave of Christiania complaining of Omicron's impact on Christmas. Photo: Philip Davali/Scanpix

How many cases, hospitalisations and deaths are there in Denmark? 

Denmark registered 12,588 new cases in the 24 hours leading up to 2pm on Saturday, down from the 18,261 registered on in the day leading up to Friday at 2pm, which was itself a decline from the record 28,283 cases recorded on Wednesday. 

The cases were identified by a total of 174,517 PCR tests, bringing the positive percentage to 7.21 percent, down from the sky high rates of close to 12 percent seen in the first few days of January. 

The number of cases over the past seven days is lower than the week before in almost every municipality in Denmark, with only Vallensbæk, Aarhus, Holseterbro, Skanderborg, Hjørring, Vordingborg,  Ringkøbing, Kolding, Assens, Horsens, Thisted, and Langeland reporting rises. 

Hospitalisations have also started to fall, with some 730 patients being treated for Covid-10 on Saturday, down from 755 on Friday. On Tuesday, 794 were being treated for Covid-19 in Danish hospitals, the highest number since the peak of the 2020-21 winter wave.

The only marker which has not yet started to fall is the number of deaths, which tends to trail infections and hospitalisations. 

In the 24 hours leading up to 2pm on Saturday, Denmark registered 28 deaths with Covid-19, the highest daily number recorded since 20 January 2021, when 29 people died with Covid-19 (although Denmark’s deadliest day was the 19 January 2021, when 39 people died). 

How does Denmark compare to other countries in Europe? 

Over the last seven days, Denmark has had the highest Covid-19 case rate of any country in Europe bar Ireland. The number of new infections in the country has climbed steadily since the start of December, apart from a brief fall over Christmas. 

So does this mean the omicron wave has peaked? 

Maybe, although experts are not sure. 

“Of course, you can hope for that, but I’m not sure that is the case,” said Christian Wejse, head of the Department for Infectious Diseases at Aarhus University Hospital. “I think it is too early to conclude that the epidemic has peaked.”

He said that patients with the Omicron variant were being discharged more rapidly on average than had been the case with those who had the more dangerous Delta variant. 

“Many admissions are relatively short-lived, thankfully. This is because many do not become that il, and are largely hospitalized because they are suffering with something else. And if they are stable and do not need oxygen, then they are quickly discharged again.” 

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said during a visit to an event held by the Social Liberal party that the latest numbers made her even more optimistic about the coming month. 

“We have lower infection numbers and the number of hospitalisations is also plateauing,” she said. “I think we’re going to get through this winter pretty well, even if it will be a difficult time for a lot of people, and we are beginning to see the spring ahead of us, so I’m actually very optimistic.” 

She said that she had been encouraged by the fact that Omicron was a “visibly less dangerous variant if it is not allowed to explode.” 

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