COPENHAGEN – Denmark plans to allow shops and some schools to reopen in March in a much-awaited move that could however send hospital coronavirus admissions soaring in the coming months.
Denmark, which has one of many lowest infection rates in Europe, has seen general infection numbers drop after it introduced lockdown measures in December in a bid to curb a more contagious coronavirus variant.
The government will permit shops under 5,000 sq. meters to reopen, whereas outdoor leisure actions can resume with a higher limit of 25 individuals.
Schools in parts of the country will also be allowed to reopen, however will require students to test themselves twice a week.
The measures, which are based on recommendations from a skilled advisory group, could send hospital admissions skyrocketing, the government stated.
“More activity will also imply extra infected and thus also more hospitalizations,” Health Minister Magnus Heunicke told a press conference, including COVID-19 admissions could briefly peak at some 880 in mid-April, more than triple the current 247.
Reopening shops is expected to contribute more than 2 billion crowns ($326.92 million) to the Danish economy every month, Finance Minister Nicolai Wammen stated on Wednesday.
“We have seen other nations that have gone too quick and lost control of the infection. This is a scenario we must avoid,” Wammen stated.
A new and more contagious variant of the coronavirus, which has wrought havoc across Europe, became the dominant one in Denmark in February, responsible for more than half of all infections.
The variant has a reproduction value of 1.2, which means it’s spreading. Denmark has registered a total of 208,556 infections and 2,343 demises due to COVID-19.
