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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Friday

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

A misty morning in Denmark earlier this autumn.
A misty morning in Denmark earlier this autumn. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

Up to 10 million kroner could be spent fixing problem with emergency calls 

Spending of around 10 million kroner has been proposed for resolving issues with the 112 emergency call service in the Greater Copenhagen region. Newspaper Berlingske first reported that many calls to the emergency switchboard had been ‘missed’ during a period stretching back as much as two years.

A missed emergency call is defined as a call where the caller does not receive immediate assistance from a qualified health professional at the switchboard due to call queuing. The switchboard has 22 seconds to answer the call before it is registered as missed.

The regional health authority proposed the investment via a press statement this morning. The proposal, which primarily allocated spending on hiring extra personnel for the emergency lines, will be addressed politically next week.

One in five local politicians say they have been harassed

Harassment and inappropriate behaviour are prevalent in local Danish politics, according to a study by the Danish Center for Social Science Research.

In the survey, one in five municipal politicians said they had received offensive comments relating to their body, appearance or gender.

Around five percent have experienced sexual harassment in connection with their jobs in politics.

Almost 800 local politicians took part in the survey.

Covid-19 infections at care homes drop following booster vaccinations

 The number of residents at care homes who tested positive for Covid-19 fell markedly following revaccination of the vast majority of this group against the virus, the Ministry of Health said in a statement yesterday.

In the week booster vaccinations at care homes commenced, 45 residents were infected with Covid-19. That number fell to just four cases last week.

The decrease is “probably” a result of the revaccination of 94 percent of care home residents with a third booster Covid-19 vaccination, the ministry wrote.

Foggy morning to clear up, bringing bright weekend

 Motorists were advised to exercise caution on the roads this morning, with a thick mist over much of the country reducing visibility considerably.

A similar situation is expected tomorrow morning, but the good news is that the sun will dry away the mist on both days, resulting in sunny, dry and warm afternoons for the time of year.

Temperatures are forecast at 13-16 degrees Celsius.

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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: a roundup of the news on Tuesday

Danish ship sailed near Russian ships before Nord Stream blast, Danish Health Authority orders cancer review, Danish artist launches epic troll hunt, and Denmark third in Europe on patent applications per head. Here's some of the news on Tuesday.

Today in Denmark: a roundup of the news on Tuesday

Danish ship allegedly sailed after Russian ships near the Nord Stream

The Danish patrol vessel P524 Nymfen was sailing in the area around the gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 just four days before they were hit by several explosions on 26 September last year, the UK’s Times newspaper has reported. 

According to the German news site T-online, six Russian warships were in the area at the same time, including the submarine support ship SS-750, which had the mini-submarine AS-26 with it.

According to the site, SS-750 turned off its tracking device when it neared the area where the gas pipelines were blown up.

Shortly afterwards, a Swedish ship, K31 Visby, sailed to the area. 

Danish vocab: patruljefartøj – patrol vessel 

Danish Health Authority orders cancer treatment review 

Søren Brostrøm, the director of the Danish Health Authority, has ordered a survey of cancer care in Denmark after DR reported that 182 patients had waited too long for an operation at Aarhus University Hospital.

Following DR’s report, a survey found that 293 patients had waited for more than the two weeks prescribed by law over the past year. The Central Denmark Region had not reported the delays to the Danish Health Authority because the patients had accepted that the waiting time would be longer than two weeks. 

It has since emerged that the Capital Region around Copenhagen has also failed to report excess waiting times for cancer patients. 

Danish vocab: ventetiden – waiting times 

Danish artist hatches epic global troll hunt

A Danish artist famous for his towering wooden trolls sent fans on a worldwide quest Monday to find his latest creation.

Thomas Dambo has created a complex treasure hunt to find “Moon Mother”, his 100th troll sculpture, who he said has “crawled into the most secret spot in the forest” to give birth.

His giant figures inspired by Scandinavian folk tales are often located off the beaten track to tempt children and adults to venture out into nature, and to show what you can do with recycled materials.

To find “Moon Mother”, fans will have to piece together codes placed near his existing trolls across the world.

“I decided to make a super secret one and make it an intricate treasure hunt that leads you around all the other ones I’ve made through the years,” Dambo told AFP.

Denmark third in Europe on patent applications per head 

Denmark was third only to Switzerland and Sweden in 2022 in the number of patent applications lodged with the European Patent Office per million inhabitants according to the latest figures.

Denmark made 453 applications per million inhabitants, just behind Sweden on 482 and Switzerland on 1,031. See graph for details

“It is gratifying that we have continued to invest in innovation and patents even under the difficult conditions seen over the last year,” said Flemming Kønig Mejl, who leads the international cooperation division at the Danish Patent and Trademark Office.

“It just shows that Danish companies are good at prioritising research and development. It is also something that we make a living from in Denmark, and which helps to create jobs.” 

Danish vocab: patentansøgninger – patent applications

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