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COVID-19

Denmark to present plan for ‘gradual’ lifting of restrictions

Denmark will gradually reopen society as it emerges from the current national lockdown, according to a plan the government said it will present later this week.

Published: 22 February 2021 17:01 CET
Denmark to present plan for 'gradual' lifting of restrictions
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. File photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

The government will on Wednesday unveil its plan for restrictions on and after March 1st. The current national lockdown is scheduled to expire on February 28th.

In a social media post on Monday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated that restrictions will not yet be lifted fully.

“Now – with infections lower – the unanimous view of experts is that it is not possible to reopen fully,” Frederiksen wrote on Facebook.

In January, expert advisors to the government recommended that high schools and uppers secondary schools be allowed to reopen before universities.

Additionally, shops should be allowed to reopen before people working from home are allowed to return to other work places, according to the advice.

Outdoor sports and cultural activities could also be allowed to open before activities that take place indoors.

Frederiksen also said that the reopening of society could take place on a partly regional basis.

She wrote that she was “positive” towards calls made by the opposition Liberal party for regional relaxation of rules.

The government is “positive towards, for example, regional reopenings provided it is medically reasonable, just as there are currently regional restrictions,” she said. Schools in the town of Kolding are currently closed after an outbreak of the infectious B117 variant in the area.

But the PM would not yet give a firm outline as to what measures will remain in place next month.

Societal and economic recommendations to the government will be discussed with the other parliamentary parties on Tuesday before any decision is announced to the public, news wire Ritzau writes.

Over 300,000 people in Denmark have so far received at least the first dose to a vaccination against Covid-19, according to latest figures.

But increased supply in of vaccines in coming months will see that figure begin to rise at a faster rate, Frederiksen wrote.

“I said in my New Year’s speech that January and February would test our resilience. I think that March – and maybe April – will test our patience,” she added.

READ ALSO: Denmark tightens border to Germany following coronavirus outbreak

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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.” 

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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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