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TRAVEL

Denmark to ease travel restrictions: What changes in Denmark this Saturday?

Denmark will on Saturday bring in the fourth and final stage of its lifting of Covid-19 travel restrictions, with the EU digital covid certificate playing a bigger rule and a new "green" travel category.

Published: 21 June 2021 15:09 CEST
Denmark to ease travel restrictions: What changes in Denmark this Saturday?
Denmark's health minister Magnus Heunicke shows off Denmark's updated version of the EU Digital Covid Certificate at the end of May. Photo: Martin Sylvest/Ritzau Scanpix

According to a press release issued last week by the Justice Ministry, Saturday June 26th will mark the shift to a “corona passport-based approach” to travel. 

What does it mean that Denmark is shifting to a “Covid-19 passport based system” in the EU and Schengen area? 

This means that anyone carrying an EU Digital Covid Certificate, which shows either a recent negative test result, completed vaccination or a positive test between 14 and 180 days old, will be able to use it to enter Denmark. 

Previously, you would have had to carry a the evidence in paper form. 

Although the EU-wide scheme starts formally on July 1st, according to the ministry 16 EU countries are already using the coordinated QR-code based system. 

Which are the 16 countries already using the EU Digital Covid Certificate system? 

All of the following countries already have the system up and running as of Monday June 21st: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. 

What is the new “green” category? 

As part of the phase four reopening, Denmark is reintroducing the “green” travel category of its traffic light system.

All EU and Schengen countries which previously met the criteria to be classed as “yellow”, will from Saturday be classed as “green”. 

“Green” countries will be defined as EU or Schengen countries that have registered less than 50 to 60 cases per 100,000 people over the past week. 

EU or Schengen countries that have registered more than 50 to 60 cases per 100,000 people over the preceding week will be ranked “yellow”, as will non-EU countries who are on the EU approved list.  Other non-EU countries will be ranked “orange”. Countries or regions of countries will be marked “red”, if there is a high prevalence there of concerning virus variants. 

Danish citizens travelling from a “green” or “yellow” country will not need to show any test results before coming to Denmark or isolate on their return, mean travelling is effectively now free throughout the European Union and Schengen countries. 

When do you need to use the EU Digital Covid Certificate? 

Those who have been vaccinated or are immune can use the app to prove their status. 

Residents or citizens of EU/Schengen countries who are neither vaccinated no immune will need to use their app to show that they have had a 

recent negative Covid-19 test whether they are travelling, whether their country is ranked green, yellow, orange or red country. 

 
What changes are there to tourists coming from cruise ships? 
 
From June 26th, if all guests on a cruise ship have been fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), in an OECD, EU, Schengen or “yellow” third country, then the ships will be able to visit ports and discharge passengers. 
 
What is the Danish government doing to make it easier to understand the requirements? 
 
At some point this week, the Danish government will create a new clickable guide to help foreign tourists better understand their travel requirements. 
 
 

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HEALTH

Italy’s schools warned to ‘avoid gatherings’ as Covid cases rise

As Italy’s new school year began, masks and hand sanitiser were distributed in schools and staff were asked to prevent gatherings to help stem an increase in Covid infections.

Published: 11 September 2023 12:48 CEST
Italy’s schools warned to ‘avoid gatherings’ as Covid cases rise

Pupils returned to school in many parts of Italy on Monday and authorities said they were distributing masks and hand sanitiser amid a post-summer increase in the number of recorded cases of Covid–19.

“The advice coming from principals, teachers and janitors is to avoid gatherings of students, especially in these first days of school,” Mario Rusconi, head of Italy’s Principals’ Association, told Rai news on Monday.

He added that local authorities in many areas were distributing masks and hand sanitizer to schools who had requested them.

“The use of personal protective equipment is recommended for teachers and students who are vulnerable,” he said, confirming that “use is not mandatory.”

A previous requirement for students to wear masks in the classroom was scrapped at the beginning of the last academic year.

Walter Ricciardi, former president of the Higher Health Institute (ISS), told Italy’s La Stampa newspaper on Monday that the return to school brings the risk of increased Covid infections.

Ricciardi described the health ministry’s current guidelines for schools as “insufficient” and said they were “based on politics rather than scientific criteria.”

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Recorded cases of Covid have increased in most Italian regions over the past three weeks, along with rates of hospitalisation and admittance to intensive care, as much of the country returns to school and work following the summer holidays.

Altogether, Italy recorded 21,309 new cases in the last week, an increase of 44 percent compared to the 14,863 seen the week before.

While the World Health Organisation said in May that Covid was no longer a “global health emergency,” and doctors say currently circulating strains of the virus in Italy are not a cause for alarm, there are concerns about the impact on elderly and clinically vulnerable people with Italy’s autumn Covid booster campaign yet to begin.

“We have new variants that we are monitoring but none seem more worrying than usual,” stated Fabrizio Maggi, director of the Virology and Biosafety Laboratories Unit of the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome

He said “vaccination coverage and hybrid immunity can only translate into a milder disease in young and healthy people,” but added that “vaccinating the elderly and vulnerable continues to be important.”

Updated vaccines protecting against both flu and Covid are expected to arrive in Italy at the beginning of October, and the vaccination campaign will begin at the end of October, Rai reported.

Amid the increase in new cases, Italy’s health ministry last week issued a circular mandating Covid testing on arrival at hospital for patients with symptoms.

Find more information about Italy’s current Covid-19 situation and vaccination campaign on the Italian health ministry’s website (available in English).

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