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Aarhus schools partially reopen as local Danish coronavirus restrictions eased

Some upper secondary school (gymnasium) students in Aarhus are able to physically attend classes again from Tuesday.

Published: 25 August 2020 12:03 CEST
Aarhus schools partially reopen as local Danish coronavirus restrictions eased
Students in Aarhus on Monday protested against ongoing closures of upper secondary schools. The measure has since been partially lifted. Photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

A temporary closure of upper secondary schools, which are attended by 16-19 year-olds, was partially lifted along with local restrictions in the town of Silkeborg, the Ministry for Health and the Elderly said in a statement late on Monday.

Half of students at upper secondary schools in Aarhus will be allowed to return initially, with the remaining limitation set to stay in place until September 4th.

Both Aarhus and Silkeborg municipalities had been the subject of measures aimed at slowing localised increases in new Covid-19 infections.

A potential easing of Silkeborg’s restrictions was notified last week by the Danish Patient Safety Authority provided that a “positive trend” in reducing new cases continued.

As such, face masks will no longer be required in supermarkets and shopping centres in the town and restaurant closing times will be brought back into line with the rest of the country.

READ ALSO: Here’s what you need to know about Denmark’s 'phase four' reopening

Some of the restrictions in Aarhus will remain in place. That includes the obligation for cafes and restaurants to close by midnight, although this may be reviewed before the current September 4th expiry date.

Half of upper secondary school students in the city will now return to class, however.

“Management at educational institutions will be responsible for ensuring that, before physical attendance at educational institutions commences, a plan is in place for conducting classes in accordance with health authority recommendations,” the ministry statement said.

No further information was given on which students would initially return to classes.

Health minister Magnus Heunicke, in a social media post, praised Aarhus, saying the city had “done well” to enable measures to be eased.

On of the upper secondary schools in the city, Marselisborg Gymnasium, said it would wait until Wednesday before reopening.

“I’m just so happy about this. And I’m happy they’ve listened to us. But that’s precisely why we want to reopen responsibly with distancing and so on,” school director Kirsten Skov told Ritzau.

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COVID-19

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus.

Published: 23 December 2022 10:53 CET
Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

In a new recommendation, the agency said that those living in elderly care centres, and those above the age of 80 should from March 1st receive two vaccinations a year, with a six month gap between doses. 

“Elderly people develop a somewhat worse immune defence after vaccination and immunity wanes faster than among young and healthy people,” the agency said. “That means that elderly people have a greater need of booster doses than younger ones. The Swedish Public Health Agency considers, based on the current knowledge, that it will be important even going into the future to have booster doses for the elderly and people in risk groups.” 

READ ALSO: 

People between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and young people with risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, poor kidney function or high blood pressure, are recommended to take one additional dose per year.

The new vaccination recommendation, which will start to apply from March 1st next year, is only for 2023, Johanna Rubin, the investigator in the agency’s vaccination programme unit, explained. 

She said too much was still unclear about how long protection from vaccination lasted to institute a permanent programme.

“This recommendation applies to 2023. There is not really an abundance of data on how long protection lasts after a booster dose, of course, but this is what we can say for now,” she told the TT newswire. 

It was likely, however, that elderly people would end up being given an annual dose to protect them from any new variants, as has long been the case with influenza.

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