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COVID-19

Denmark’s face mask requirement comes into force: these are the rules you need to know

A requirement to wear face masks on all public transport in Denmark comes into effect on Saturday, August 22nd.

Denmark’s face mask requirement comes into force: these are the rules you need to know
People wearing face masks at Copenhagen Central Station earlier this week. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

Although face masks are not obligatory prior to that date, health authorities are already recommending their use on busy public transport.

The following rules and recommendations apply from Saturday August 22nd:

  • Face masks must be worn on all public transport in Denmark at all times
  • Visors may be used instead of face masks
  • The requirement applies to passengers over the age of 12
  • The requirement applies to all public transport in Denmark including ferries, regional buses, city buses, taxis, Metro trains, light rail (Letbane) trains and railways, including at stations.
  • Staff are also required to wear face masks unless they are in areas with no passenger access.
  • Refusal to wear a mask will result in the passenger being asked to leave the public transport in question. Further refusal can result in police involvement.
  • Some adults are exempted from the requirement for health reasons. These include persons with breathing difficulties, lower awareness levels, or persons with physical or mental conditions which prevent them from being able to remove their own face masks.
  • People in categories considered high-risk for coronavirus are advised to wear face masks in all public places in which it is not possible to maintain a social distance of two metres and whenever they are with people they do not live with. This includes senior citizens, people who live in nursing homes, people who are severely overweight, people with chronic illnesses and people with no fixed place of residence.
  • Face masks should be removed if the wearer experiences serious discomfort or difficulty breathing.
  • The face mask may be removed in order to eat, drink or ingest medicine.
  • Face masks may be removed to communicate with people who lip-read.
  • The face mask may be removed if required by police for identification purposes.

Sources: DR, Sundhedsstyrelsen

READ ALSO: Denmark makes masks compulsory on public transport

 

 

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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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