KEY POINTS: What changes about life in Denmark in February 2022?
Coronavirus restrictions and travel rules are among the changes which will affect life in Denmark in February.
No Covid-19 travel restrictions for vaccinated persons
A small number of Covid-19 travel restrictions will be retained in February but these will not apply to people vaccinated against the virus.
People who can document vaccination with an EU approved vaccine, or who have been previously infected with Covid-19, will no longer have to take a test or quarantine on entering Denmark regardless of where in the world they are travelling from, the government recently announced.
For travel to Denmark from EU or Schengen countries, people who are neither vaccinated nor previously infected must take a test for Covid-19 no more than 24 hours following entry, or may alternatively take a test prior to travel.
Unvaccinated people with no infection history travelling from outside the EU and Schengen area are affected by different rules depending on whether they are travelling from what Denmark categorises a “risk” or “high risk” country.
Full details of how the rules will change can be found here.
Domestic restrictions to be lifted on February 1st
All domestic restrictions, including the use of a vaccine pass, mask-wearing and early closings for bars and restaurants, are to be lifted on February 1st.
A coronapas has been required since late last year at bars and restaurants among other settings, while face mask rules have been in place in stores, on public transport and in health and social care settings.
The decision was announced by the government last week despite high infection rates, with falling ICU patient numbers, high vaccine uptake and the milder Omicron variant forming the background of the decision.
READ ALSO: Denmark’s Covid-19 rules for close contacts and ‘other’ contacts
Restrictions on alcohol sales to end a few hours early
If you want to celebrate the end of restrictions with a late drink, it will be possible to do so the day before the change takes full effect.
With general Covid restrictions scheduled to be lifted on February 1st, the government has brought forward the end of the restrictions on bars by a few hours.
The decision was made to avoid a situation in which bars would have had to close at 11pm on January 31st, only to open again an hour later following the cut-off point for the outgoing restrictions.
Alcohol may also be sold after 10pm from January 31st, including in stores.
Covid-19 sick leave compensation could end
Increased sick days taken by staff at Danish companies, related to the country’s current high rate of Covid-19 infections and self-isolation rules, are currently eligible for special compensation under a deal reached by the government and the labour market late last year.
Under normal Danish sick leave rules, companies must pay up to the first 30 days of sick pay for staff. The current special provision allows companies to apply for reimbursement for this.
A criterion for the compensation is that the staff member in question is unable to work from home.
The agreement is set to expire on February 28th 2022. It will be reviewed close to this time to assess whether an extension is needed.
Return to ‘normal life’ in sight?
At the beginning of January, the head of department and senior consultant at the State Serum Institute (SSI), Tyra Grove Krause, said that she expected the current wave of Covid-19 infections in Denmark, driven by the dominant Omicron variant, to peak in coming weeks before drop in infections in February.
“Omicron will peak at the end of January, and February will see falling infection numbers and a reduction in strain on the health system. But we must make an effort in January, because it will be hard to get through,” she said in an interview.
“I think (Covid-19) will have the next two months and after that I hope that infections will begin to pare back and we will get our normal lives back,” she also said.
Although there is little sign of infection numbers flattening at the time of writing, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen spoke of a return to "life as we knew it" after announcing the end of Covid restrictions last week.
“We are saying farewell to the restrictions and welcome to life as we knew it before corona,” Frederiksen told a press conference.
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No Covid-19 travel restrictions for vaccinated persons
A small number of Covid-19 travel restrictions will be retained in February but these will not apply to people vaccinated against the virus.
People who can document vaccination with an EU approved vaccine, or who have been previously infected with Covid-19, will no longer have to take a test or quarantine on entering Denmark regardless of where in the world they are travelling from, the government recently announced.
For travel to Denmark from EU or Schengen countries, people who are neither vaccinated nor previously infected must take a test for Covid-19 no more than 24 hours following entry, or may alternatively take a test prior to travel.
Unvaccinated people with no infection history travelling from outside the EU and Schengen area are affected by different rules depending on whether they are travelling from what Denmark categorises a “risk” or “high risk” country.
Full details of how the rules will change can be found here.
Domestic restrictions to be lifted on February 1st
All domestic restrictions, including the use of a vaccine pass, mask-wearing and early closings for bars and restaurants, are to be lifted on February 1st.
A coronapas has been required since late last year at bars and restaurants among other settings, while face mask rules have been in place in stores, on public transport and in health and social care settings.
The decision was announced by the government last week despite high infection rates, with falling ICU patient numbers, high vaccine uptake and the milder Omicron variant forming the background of the decision.
READ ALSO: Denmark’s Covid-19 rules for close contacts and ‘other’ contacts
Restrictions on alcohol sales to end a few hours early
If you want to celebrate the end of restrictions with a late drink, it will be possible to do so the day before the change takes full effect.
With general Covid restrictions scheduled to be lifted on February 1st, the government has brought forward the end of the restrictions on bars by a few hours.
The decision was made to avoid a situation in which bars would have had to close at 11pm on January 31st, only to open again an hour later following the cut-off point for the outgoing restrictions.
Alcohol may also be sold after 10pm from January 31st, including in stores.
Covid-19 sick leave compensation could end
Increased sick days taken by staff at Danish companies, related to the country’s current high rate of Covid-19 infections and self-isolation rules, are currently eligible for special compensation under a deal reached by the government and the labour market late last year.
Under normal Danish sick leave rules, companies must pay up to the first 30 days of sick pay for staff. The current special provision allows companies to apply for reimbursement for this.
A criterion for the compensation is that the staff member in question is unable to work from home.
The agreement is set to expire on February 28th 2022. It will be reviewed close to this time to assess whether an extension is needed.
Return to ‘normal life’ in sight?
At the beginning of January, the head of department and senior consultant at the State Serum Institute (SSI), Tyra Grove Krause, said that she expected the current wave of Covid-19 infections in Denmark, driven by the dominant Omicron variant, to peak in coming weeks before drop in infections in February.
“Omicron will peak at the end of January, and February will see falling infection numbers and a reduction in strain on the health system. But we must make an effort in January, because it will be hard to get through,” she said in an interview.
“I think (Covid-19) will have the next two months and after that I hope that infections will begin to pare back and we will get our normal lives back,” she also said.
Although there is little sign of infection numbers flattening at the time of writing, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen spoke of a return to "life as we knew it" after announcing the end of Covid restrictions last week.
“We are saying farewell to the restrictions and welcome to life as we knew it before corona,” Frederiksen told a press conference.
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