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COVID-19 TESTS

Everyone in Denmark can now have a coronavirus test

Denmark said on Monday that it would offer all adults the chance to be tested for the new coronavirus, including those who have no symptoms, as the country recorded its smallest rise in cases in two months.

“All adults in Denmark can now make an appointment on their own for a COVID-19 test,” the health ministry said in a statement, with a link to a website to make an appointment.
 
The website is theoretically open to anyone with a NemID, the Danish bank's shared login system. 
   
Until now, only those with symptoms could be tested, once they had received the green light from their doctor.
   
On Monday, the country registered 41 new cases, the smallest increase since mid-March, bringing the total number to 11,166.
   
“We've brought the infection rate down to a very low level. It's imperative that there be no hidden pockets of infection that could cause the spread of the virus to increase,” Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said.
   
The test being offered detects an active case of the virus, and is not an antibody test that determines whether a person has been infected at some point.
   
After announcing strict measures to curb the virus on March 11, the Scandinavian country was the first in Europe to reopen nursery and primary schools on April 15.
 
   
Since then, a number of restrictions have been eased, including the reopening of hair salons, dentists' practices and tattoo parlours, as well as shopping centres and department stores.
   
On Monday, cafes, bars and restaurants reopened.
   
The infection rate has since dropped, from 1.0 in late April to 0.7 in the first week of May, health authorities said.
   
A reproduction rate of 1.0 means that one person with COVID-19 infects on average just one other, while a rate of below 1.0 indicates that the spread is declining.
   
Denmark has confirmed 548 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

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COVID-19 TESTS

Denmark to close all remaining Covid-19 test centres by end of March

Health authorities in Denmark have decided that all regions will close any remaining Covid-19 test centres by the end of March.

Denmark to close all remaining Covid-19 test centres by end of March

The decision, confirmed by the South Denmark regional authority in a statement on Friday, reflects the limited demand for Covid-19 testing just under three years since the pandemic broke out in Denmark.

Closure of the remaining test centres does not mean it will no longer be possible to be tested for the coronavirus.

Instead, PCR tests will be offered at GP surgeries or hospitals if considered necessary by doctors. If there is no medical indication for a test, members of the public will be advised to use a self-administered lateral flow test.

Region South Denmark said that it would close its remaining centres in Odense, Svendborg, Vejle, Kolding, Aabenraa, Sønderborg, Esbjerg and on the island of Ærø on an ongoing basis by March 31st.

“It is good that Covid-19 is relatively minor in our society now, three years after the first Danes were infected with the disease,” the Region’s director Kurt Espersen said in the statement.

“National authorities have concluded that the response to corona now goes into a new phase,” he said.

“That means that public PCR testing is phased out by March 31st and that we can therefore close the regional test provisions that began in April 2020,” he said.

The closure of the state-funded test centres means regional health authorities will no longer receive money from the government to cover the operating costs of the testing facilities.

Some 67 million PCR tests have been administered at Danish Covid-19 test centres since they first appeared in April 2020, including 3.4 million positive tests according to national data.

Privately-operated antibody or “quick” test centres were phased out and closed last year, after giving around 61 million tests.

READ ALSO: Covid-19: Denmark decides against additional booster this winter

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