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Today in Denmark: A round-up of the latest news on Tuesday

Find out what's going on in Denmark today with The Local's short roundup of the news in less than five minutes.

Today in Denmark: A round-up of the latest news on Tuesday
Staff getting ready to reopen the Old Irish Pub in Jomfru Ane Gade, Aalborg, in mid April. Photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

Spying between allies “not acceptable”, say Macron and Merkel 

French president Emmanuel Macron have demanded explanations from both Denmark and the US over plans the NSA used Danish undersea cables to spy on senior European politicians. 

“This is not acceptable between allies, and even less between allies and European partners,” Macron said after the two leaders talked via video conference.

“There is no room for suspicion,” he added, as he stressed the value of the ties between Europeans and Americans. “That is why what we are waiting for complete clarity,” from both Denmark and the US, he added. “We are awaiting these answers.”

Merkel said she “could only agree” with Macron’s comments, adding she was “reassured” by Danish Defence Minister Trine Bramsen’s condemnation of any such spying.

Danish government wants rethink on dropped vaccines

Denmark’s government on Monday asked the country’s health authority to reconsider rulings against using the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines, after struggling to keep its vaccination drive on schedule.

The use of both vaccines was abandoned several weeks ago over concerns about rare, but severe cases of blood clots in some recipients.

But the Danish authorities have had difficulty getting deliveries of the Moderna vaccine from the United States, forcing a revision of plans to have everyone vaccinated by September.

Health Minister Magnus Heunicke told state broadcaster DR it was in this context that the government was asking the health authority to reconsider. Read our story here

Demand soars for optional vaccination scheme 

The number of people in Denmark who have applied to be vaccinated with either the Johnson & Johnson or AstraZeneca vaccines under the voluntary scheme has risen rapidly so far this wake, Jonas Nilsen the co-founder of Practio, the private company offering the vaccines, has told the Ritzau newswire. 

At present, more than 30,000 people are queuing up for the doctor’s consultation required to determine whether it is safe for them to be vaccinated them with one of the two vaccines.

Nilsen said he believed the rise had come because Denmark’s vaccination timeline had been pushed back once again, due to lower-than-expected deliveries of the Moderna vaccine. 

The average age of those who have enrolled in the voluntary scheme is 33 years old,  and 87 percent of them are men.

Denmark’s vaccination program may now only be finished in September: media

With 1.1m fewer vaccine doses now expected to arrive in Denmark in June and July, it is unlikely that all adults in the country will be vaccinated until well into September, according to broadcaster TV2, the Ekstra Bladet newspaper, the Ritzau newswire and other media. 

The shortfall follows a delay in approving the CureVac vaccine and lower than expected deliveries of the Moderna vaccine. 

Pub owners in Aalborg party street bring in own restrictions 

Bar owners in Jomfru Ane Gade, a busy street of pubs and nightclub in Aalborg, are to make having a valid coronavirus pass compulsory for those drinking outside as well as inside in the hope of warding off calls for the street to be closed in the face of rising infections. Aalborg’s mayor Thomas Kastrup-Larsen has been calling for the street’s bars to be temporarily closed. 

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NEWS ROUNDUP

Today in Denmark: A round-up of the latest news on Monday

Find out what's going on in Denmark today with The Local's short roundup of the news in less than five minutes.

Today in Denmark: A round-up of the latest news on Monday
The centenary celebrations for the return of Northern Schleswigtook place at Kongeskansen, or the King's Hedge, the remains of the fortress the Prussians built after their victory in the second Schleswig War. Photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

Eriksen suffered ‘cardiac arrest’, Denmark team doctor confirms

Denmark’s team doctor said Sunday there was still “no explanation” for why midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed during his country’s opening Euro 2020 game against Finland, but confirmed he had suffered a cardiac arrest.

“He was gone, and we did cardiac resuscitation,” team doctor Morten Bösen told a press conference. “How close were we? I don’t know. We got him back after one defib (defibrillation), so that’s quite fast,” Bösen added.

However, the physician also said they had yet to discover that cause of the 29-year-old’s heart attack.   

“There’s no explanation so far,” Bösen said, adding that all tests done so far on the player, who is still in hospital, have come back fine.

“That is also one of the reasons that he is still in the hospital,” the physician added. Read our story here

Denmark on Sunday celebrates 100th anniversary of return of South Jutland

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II on Sunday made a speech in the south Jutland town of Frederikshøj to mark the centenary of the return of southern Jutland to Denmark. 

“We now leave the border to younger generations. Safe and confident that they can follow the development that their parents and grandparents began,” Margrethe said. 

After the defeat of Germany in World War I, the Allied powers organised two referenda in Northern and Central Schleswig, with Northern Schleswig voting 75 percent for reunification with Denmark, and then reuniting with Denmark on June 15th, 1920. 

The centennial celebration was scheduled for July 2020 but was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Number hospitalised and infected in Denmark falls despite reopening 

The number of people being treated in hospital for coronavirus has fallen to 98 people, down from 155 people at the start of the month. On Saturday the number hospitalised fell below 100 for the first time since last September. 

The number of new infections has also been falling, with 315 people testing positive in the 24 hours up to 2pm on Sunday, the lowest number since February 14th. 

Danish police wait for ‘boy racer’ to hand himself in 

The driver who hit speeds of up to 150km per hour as he fled police in Ishøj on the outskirts of Copenhagen on Sunday will eventually hand himself in, police predicted. 

“We know exactly who he is and we have been in telephone contact with him. He’s kind of gone into hiding, but he knows very well that he needs to approach us,” Mads Dam from the Copenhagen Police told Ritzau on Monday morning.

As well as driving at more than three times the speed limit in a residential area, the man also drove at times against the direction of the traffic, through red lights, across football pitches and down paths meant for pedestrians. 

The chase began after police approached him in a parking lot. 

Russian planes violate Danish airspace around Bornholm 

Two Russian planes on Friday violated Danish airspace by flying over the Baltic Sea and then over Bornholm, 

The Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets moved into the airspace near Christiansø, between 11.08am to 11.10am and 11.40am to 11.42am. 

“It is very rare that we see this type of violation of Danish airspace, so two on the same day can only be described as serious,” said Trine Bramsen, Denmark’s minister of defence.

“We are of course very concerned about how this could happen. Is this a navigational error or a deliberate provocation? Of course we will dig into that.”

Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod has summoned Russia’s ambassador to Denmark over the violation, and said he would also discuss it with his allies, particularly in the Nato alliance.

The planes were met by Danish F-16 aircraft, which followed the Russians during the entire second violation. Read our story here. 

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