Denmark has announced that it will be abolishing all domestic COVID restrictions currently in place, with the PM saying that the country could ‘smile again’.
Following in the footsteps of England, Ireland, and the Netherlands, Denmark has announced that it will soon be dramatically pulling back on COVID restrictions within the country.
However, unlike these three European nations which are keeping some measures in place while pulling others back, Denmark is planning on scrapping all of its domestic restrictions from February 1.
From next month, the Nordic state’s gastronomy sector will be allowed to stay open after 10pm, with customers no longer being required to show a COVID cert in order to gain entry to restaurants and bars, according to a report by Reuters.
Meanwhile, mask mandates for the likes of public transport will be scrapped in their entirety, along with limits on the numbers allowed in retail outlets.
Speaking on the decision, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that the country was now in a position to “smile again”.
“We have incredibly good news, we can now remove the last coronavirus restrictions in Denmark,” Politico reports Frederiksen as saying at a press conference.
The PM noted that while it may appear “strange and paradoxical” that the government chose to loosen restrictions at a time when case numbers are at record highs, the nation’s health minister affirmed that those numbers do not pose a significant threat.
“The situation in Denmark is that we have this decoupling between infections and intensive care patients, and it is mainly due to the large attachment among Danes to revaccination,” the Health Minister, Magnus Heunicke, said. “That is the reason why it is safe [to loosen measures] and the right thing to do now.”
According to Politico, Denmark is the first European country to fully abolish all of its domestic restrictions in relation to the Chinese Coronavirus, with Reuters noting that only measures in relation to travel from abroad will remain in place after February 1.
Denmark’s abolition of restrictions targeting the Chinese Coronavirus comes as a sea change against lockdown measures takes hold across Europe.
Many countries in Europe have pulled back on harsh COVID rules in recent days, with more and more opting to dump hardline measures, such as vaccine passes and mandatory mask-wearing.
Of those who loosened restrictions, England was the first mover, with Boris Johnson announcing an end to mask mandates across the country last Wednesday as part of the nation’s return to so-called “Plan A” measures.
Ireland quickly followed suit, with the nation’s Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Micheál Martin announcing on Friday an end to the nation’s domestic system of vaccine passes effective from 6 am the following day.
Northern Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands have all also loosened lockdown rules since Johnson’s announcement.
Even nations such as France and Austria, which both continue to put extreme pressure on unjabbed individuals within their borders, have begun relaxing some rules.
Austria in particular however remains committed to implementing its regime of forced vaccination, passing legislation last week which, once in effect, will see those refusing to be vaccinated against the Chinese Coronavirus faced with fines of up to €3,600.