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Today in Denmark For Members

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Wednesday

Michael Barrett
Michael Barrett - [email protected]
Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Wednesday
Før spørgetime med statsministeren i Folketingssalen på Christiansborg i København tirsdag den 14. december 2021.. (Foto: Philip Davali/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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Number of foreigners who learn Danish jumps after charge for lessons scrapped 

The number of people learning Danish has significantly increased after a mandatory course fee at language centres was scrapped last summer, the Ministry for Immigration and Integration said in a statement released this morning.

People who would have been required to pay the fee under old rules – termed self-sufficient or selvforsørgende – numbered 10,499 in early 2020 before the charge was scrapped. In the second quarter of this year that number had risen to 18,707.

The course fee, revoked on July 1st last year, applied to foreigners in Denmark for work and study purposes as well as to refugees.

Nurses diverted from wards to Covid-19 vaccine push

Nurses, doctors and students have been diverted from daily operations at hospitals in order to administer Covid-19 vaccines as Denmark aims to give as many people as possible boosters to protect against the Omicron variant, broadcaster DR reports.

All hospitals in Central Jutland have been affected by the redeployments, according to the report.

The change in staffing will cause delays to operations and other procedures.

“But it is a necessary prioritisation. Otherwise, we risk so many people getting sick that we won’t have enough ICU beds,” medical director for the region’s hospitals Claus Brøckner Nielsen said to DR.

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Sale of fireworks permitted

The sale of fireworks is restricted by law in Denmark to a period around Christmas and New Year, which begins today for the 2021 season.

Fireworks can be purchased up to and including December 31st – the day on which the vast majority of them are set off.

Although they can be purchased from today, fireworks can only be set off from December 27th, under rules introduced in 2014.

READ ALSO: Why does Denmark go so crazy for New Year's Eve fireworks?

Sizeable investment to protect coastline environments

Danish coasts need additional protection against rising water levels, erosion and flooding and will be given 90 million kroner via the Coastal Authority for 14 different projects, the environmental ministry said in a statement.

The money comes from a poll pledged for coastal protection by the government and left wing parties in last year’s budget.

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