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Today in Denmark: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday

Elizabeth Anne Brown
Elizabeth Anne Brown - [email protected]
Today in Denmark: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
A test center at the Aalborg Barracks in Nørresundby, 28 October 2020. After a brief dip in daily Covid infection tallies due to limited testing, cases are roaring back. Photo: Henning Bagger / Ritzau Scanpix

Find out what's going on in Denmark today with The Local's short roundup of the news in less than five minutes.

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'Cloudbursts' are over (for now), but expect occasional showers 

This week's torrential downpours are over, the Danish Meteorological Institute assures us.

Denmark weathered 35 so-called cloudbursts in three days, seven of them double "cloudbursts". Some areas even experienced a little cheeky July hail shower. 

A cloudburst occurs when 15 millimeters of rain (about 0.6 inches for people who experience puddles imperially) fall in the span of half an hour. A double cloudburst dumps 30 millimeters of rain in the same 30 minutes. 

The DMI anticipates a slight temperature drop in the next few days and more modest showers. 

"Although they can be powerful with lightning and thunder, they are not expected to be quite as capable of delivery as we have seen on Monday and Tuesday," a DMI press release said.

Would-be bathers should be cautious of both the storms themselves and sewer overflow that can contaminate popular swim spots after heavy rains. 

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READ MORE: Why you should be careful at Denmark's beaches this summer

Covid infection numbers rebound, but hospital admissions stay low

The Statens Serum Institut, Denmark's infectious disease agency, reported 1,284 new Covid-19 infections on Wednesday. It's the highest single-day tally since May 21st, when 1,251 positive cases were identified from 211,369 PCR test results. Notably, the Wednesday figures come from only 80,295 PCR test results, indicating a percent positive rate of 1.6, Denmark's highest since January 13th. 

Some experts attribute the high infection rate – without a corresponding uptick in hospitalisations – may be due to Denmark's partially vaccinated population. 

"It may be caused by the fact that first-time vaccinated are not very well protected against the Delta variant," Torben Mogensen, chairman of the Lung Association, told Danish news agency Ritzau. 

As the SSI announced on Monday, 22 percent of Danes infected with the Delta variant had received their first but not their second Covid jab. 

Backlog of procedures and appointments builds from nurses' strike 

Danish nurses striking for fair pay continue to put the squeeze on administrators. Last week alone, 3,608 treatments were postponed across the country as part of the nurses' strike. That makes a cumulative 45,951 delayed treatments since the nurses' began on June 19th. 

It's important to note that 15,429 of the patients affected – about 33.6. percent – were referred out to private providers, because Denmark guarantees the right to treatment within 30 days. 

Jakob Kjellberg, a health economist at the National Research and Analysis Center for Welfare, told Danish news agency Ritzau that the current number of delays isn't yet critical for the health service. The strike will only really tip the scales if it continues through August and into September, Ritzau reports. 

READ MORE: What Danish nurses' strike means for you

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