Denmark advises against travel to eight Swedish regions due to increased coronavirus infections
A recent increase in Covid-19 infections in Sweden has resulted in Denmark’s foreign ministry now advising against non-essential travel to 8 of the country’s 21 regions.
The regions in question are Halland, Blekinge, Stockholm, Jämtland Härjedalen, Kronoberg, Uppsala, Västmanland and Örebro.
The foreign ministry updated its travel guidelines on Thursday. They take effect immediately.
Danish authorities advise against non-essential travel when the rate of Covid-19 infections exceeds 30 new cases per 100,000 residents per week.
For fellow Nordic countries, this is applied on a regional basis, so travel to some areas can be excluded while other parts of the country remains open. Conversely, this allows travel to some parts of a Nordic country to continue even if the country as a whole is above the 30 new cases per 100,000 residents per week threshold.
This is currently the case for Sweden, which has 32.4 cases per 100,000 residents per week at the time of writing. The country’s 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people is 65.8 according to figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the EU agency monitoring the data.
People who live in countries to which Denmark advises against travel are required to provide a so-called “worthy” (anerkendelsesværdigt) reason for entering Denmark. This can include work or family reasons but not tourism. Detailed guidance can be found on the Danish police website.
If Danish residents travel to a country to which the foreign ministry advises against non-essential travel, they are asked to home quarantine for 14 days on returning to Denmark.
If you were already in one of the listed areas on October 8th, the ministry states it is okay to stay until the end of your planned trip, but you should get a Covid-19 test on your return to Denmark. You do not need to quarantine for 14 days.
The model for travel guidelines for EU and Schengen countries asks travellers to get tested after returning from a region where the number of infections has increased to 50 or more new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last week.
The travel guidelines published by the Danish foreign ministry are primarily aimed at Danish tourists. Business travel can be deemed ‘essential', meaning travel to a country on Denmark's ‘banned' list for business purposes is not necessarily advised against.
Individual companies and employees can “assess whether a business trip is a necessary trip”, the ministry states on its travel guidelines page for Sweden.
“We encourage companies and their employees to follow the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' special travel advice for business travel and stay up to date on local travel restrictions on the relevant embassy website,” it adds.
Denmark also advises against all non-essential travel to non-EU or Schengen area European countries and to the rest of the world.
The foreign ministry list of recommended travel destinations is updated weekly at 4pm on Thursdays.
In addition to the number of infections, Danish authorities also look at testing and the percentage of tests which are positive. A maximum of five percent of those tested may test positive.
READ ALSO: Denmark tells airlines to refund cancelled tickets by December
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The regions in question are Halland, Blekinge, Stockholm, Jämtland Härjedalen, Kronoberg, Uppsala, Västmanland and Örebro.
The foreign ministry updated its travel guidelines on Thursday. They take effect immediately.
Danish authorities advise against non-essential travel when the rate of Covid-19 infections exceeds 30 new cases per 100,000 residents per week.
For fellow Nordic countries, this is applied on a regional basis, so travel to some areas can be excluded while other parts of the country remains open. Conversely, this allows travel to some parts of a Nordic country to continue even if the country as a whole is above the 30 new cases per 100,000 residents per week threshold.
This is currently the case for Sweden, which has 32.4 cases per 100,000 residents per week at the time of writing. The country’s 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people is 65.8 according to figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the EU agency monitoring the data.
People who live in countries to which Denmark advises against travel are required to provide a so-called “worthy” (anerkendelsesværdigt) reason for entering Denmark. This can include work or family reasons but not tourism. Detailed guidance can be found on the Danish police website.
If Danish residents travel to a country to which the foreign ministry advises against non-essential travel, they are asked to home quarantine for 14 days on returning to Denmark.
If you were already in one of the listed areas on October 8th, the ministry states it is okay to stay until the end of your planned trip, but you should get a Covid-19 test on your return to Denmark. You do not need to quarantine for 14 days.
The model for travel guidelines for EU and Schengen countries asks travellers to get tested after returning from a region where the number of infections has increased to 50 or more new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last week.
The travel guidelines published by the Danish foreign ministry are primarily aimed at Danish tourists. Business travel can be deemed ‘essential', meaning travel to a country on Denmark's ‘banned' list for business purposes is not necessarily advised against.
Individual companies and employees can “assess whether a business trip is a necessary trip”, the ministry states on its travel guidelines page for Sweden.
“We encourage companies and their employees to follow the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' special travel advice for business travel and stay up to date on local travel restrictions on the relevant embassy website,” it adds.
Denmark also advises against all non-essential travel to non-EU or Schengen area European countries and to the rest of the world.
The foreign ministry list of recommended travel destinations is updated weekly at 4pm on Thursdays.
In addition to the number of infections, Danish authorities also look at testing and the percentage of tests which are positive. A maximum of five percent of those tested may test positive.
READ ALSO: Denmark tells airlines to refund cancelled tickets by December
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