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COVID-19

Denmark extends coronavirus lockdown to entire country

Every one of Denmark’s 98 municipalities will come under the country’s ‘partial lockdown’ coronavirus restrictions from Wednesday December 16th.

Published: 15 December 2020 17:42 CET
Denmark extends coronavirus lockdown to entire country
People queue at a mobile Covid-19 test centre in Denmark on December 12th. Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

The partial lockdown restrictions were introduced last week, initially in 38 municipalities before a further 31 were added on Friday. They will now come into effect nationwide.

The expansion of the partial lockdown was confirmed by transport minister Benny Engelbrecht.

“It is really serious now. Corona has far too much of a grip on Denmark,” Engelbrecht write in a Facebook post.

“Infection rates are too high and the number of hospitalisations is rising. Far too much. That’s why we are now extending the partial lockdown to the entire country,” he added.

Local authorities were informed of the decision by health minister Magnus Heunicke earlier on Tuesday.

The lockdown takes effect in the 29 hitherto-excluded municipalities, which are mostly located in North Jutland and South Jutland, at 4pm on Wednesday.

Under the restrictions, restaurants, bars, cafes, gyms, sports centres and swimming pools are required to close. Restaurants and cafes are allowed to operate takeaway services. Professional sport is exempted from the restrictions.

Indoor areas at amusement parks, zoos, aquariums and similar types of attractions, as well as at museums, theatres, cinemas and libraries, are also closed to the public.

School children from 5th grade upwards in the affected municipalities are sent home, with classes to take place online. The same restriction applies to all adult and further education, including upper secondary schools (gymnasier) and universities. Exams will take place, but will be moved online wherever possible.

Public sector workers not in critical functions must work from home.

The restrictions are set to remain in place until January 3rd 2021.

Anders Beich, head of the Danish College of General Practitioners, called on Tuesday for restrictions on travel between different regions of Denmark, given the particularly serious nature of the current infection rate in Copenhagen.

“It would be really bad to spread the capital’s infections to the rest of the country, and that can’t be avoided if there’s travel across the country,” Beich told DR.

“We know that geographical containment is a very good strategy. We saw it in North Jutland when infections started getting out of control there and we said people should stay in their own municipalities,” he added.

The Copenhagen city government’s head of health and social care Sisse Marie Welling meanwhile called for everyone in the capital to “cancel all arrangements, stay at home, if you can work from home, then do so. Isolate as much as possible so it’s possible to go home and see your parents for Christmas.

Copenhagen Municipality has registered 5,167 cases of Covid-19 in the last seven days, giving it an infection rate of 822.1 per 100,000 residents, the highest in Denmark. Neighbouring Frederiksberg and other parts of greater Copenhagen trail very closely behind, official data shows.

Nationally, 2,992 new infections were registered on Tuesday, only the second time in the last six days the figure has been under 3,000. The test positivity rate is 3.33.

439 people are currently admitted to hospital with the coronavirus. During the spring wave, that figure peaked at just over 500.

READ ALSO: Where are Denmark’s coronavirus hotspots?

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COVID-19

Who should get vaccinated against Covid and flu in Denmark and when?

It is still free to get a Covid-19 vaccine in Denmark if you are over the age of 65 or have a health condition, with the health authorities now running Covid and flu vaccinations together. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 26 October 2023 11:10 CEST
Who should get vaccinated against Covid and flu in Denmark and when?

Who is being offered a vaccine for Covid-19 or flu this autumn? 

According to the information on the Danish Health Authority’s website, Covid-19 and flu vaccines are being offered to: 

  • People over the age of 65
  • People under the age of 65 who have a health condition which puts them at increased risk. You can find a list of the long-term health conditions deemed a risk here. 
  • Pregnant women in the 2nd and 3rd trimester

Children between 2 and 6 years of age are being offered a special flu vaccine for children, which is administered as a nose spray, but not the Covid vaccine (unless they fit one of the categories above). 

Those who have retired early, for whatever reason, are also being offered the flu vaccine but not a Covid-19 vaccine.  

People over the age of 65 and the parents of children between the ages of 2 and 6 will automatically receive an invitation to get vaccinated though their digital postbox at borger.dk, e-Boks and mit.dk.

People in the other eligible categories will not receive an invitation. 

If you have not yet received an invitation, do not worry, as invitations are being staggered over October and the start of November.  

READ ALSO: 

When and where can I get vaccinated? 

This year’s autumn vaccination campaign started on October 1st and will continue until January 15th. 

You can get vaccinated at one of over 50 regional vaccination sites all over Denmark, or at the over 280 local pharmacies which are signed up to be part of the programme. 

Residents of care homes for the elderly and others in need will be offered vaccinated at their home.

You can log in and book an appointment at your nearest centre or pharmacy at Denmark’s official vaccination website www.vacciner.dk.

Is it possible to get vaccinated against both flu and Covid-19 at the same time? 

The Danish Health Authority has judged that it is safe to receive vaccines against both flu and Covid-19 at the same time, but the two vaccines cannot be mixed in the same syringe, so you will receive two separate injections. 

Is vaccination compulsory? 

No. Although the strongly recommends everyone in the various risk categories to get vaccinated, it is up to every individual whether to do so. 

Is it possible to get vaccinated even if I am not over 65 or in a risk group? 

It is no longer possible to get vaccinated against Covid-19 or flu through Denmark’s national vaccination programme if you are not in one of the recommended categories, after the country’s health authorities stopped offering paid vaccinations.  

But it remains possible to get vaccinated at a private vaccination centre, such as the SikkerRejse chain found in most Danish towns. The chain, which has a waiting list, offers doses of the latest Comirnaty Omicron XBB.1.5 vaccine for a total price of 995 kroner. 

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