Advertisement

Covid-19: Infection numbers in Denmark up for first time since February

Ritzau/The Local
Ritzau/The Local - [email protected]
Covid-19: Infection numbers in Denmark up for first time since February
File photo of Covid-19 testing in Denmark. Cases are up for the first time since February. Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

The number of new Covid-19 infections in Denmark has increased for the first time since mid-February.

Advertisement

An increase in recorded cases of around 16 percent, from 3,290 cases to 3,805 cases, was recorded in the two most recent weeks, disease control agency State Serum Institute (SSI) said on Thursday.

The number of tests administered did not significantly change, giving an increase in the test positivity rate from 10.4 percent to 12.1 percent.

A new subvariant of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, BA. 5, is expected to become the dominant form of the coronavirus this summer.

Advertisement

“This means that we can expect to see further increases in cases in the coming period,” SSI medical director Tyra Grove Krause said in a statement.

“However, there are no indications that either BA. 2.12.1 or BA. 5 are more serious than the original Omicron variant,” Krause said.

BA. 2.12.1 is another Omicron subvariant currently spreading in Denmark.

The two subvariants comprised around 30 percent of new cases in the most recently recorded week, compared to less than four percent three weeks earlier.

The dominant variant – BA. 2 – has meanwhile fallen from 60.9 percent to 41.3 percent of all cases.

SSI said it was working on a new risk assessment for the emerging variants and was “following the situation closely”.

No increase in hospitalisation figures related to Covid-19 has been recorded in recent weeks, despite rising case numbers.

The number of hospital patients with Covid-19 fell by 11 percent to 179 last week, SSI said.

The government is expected to present a Covid-19 testing strategy for winter 2022-23 later in the summer.

Denmark lifted the majority of its Covid-19 restrictions in February, with final travel restrictions ending in March.

Health authorities now only recommend taking a PCR test for Covid-19 if you have symptoms and are at risk of serious illness should you contract the virus.

Testing is no longer recommended for close contacts of people who have the virus or are suspected to have it.

READ ALSO: Denmark says Covid-19 testing now only needed for ‘special medical reasons’

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also