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CORONAPAS

Denmark confirms plan to reintroduce face mask rules

The Danish government said on Wednesday it plans to reintroduce face mask requirements on public transport and in supermarkets and other consumer settings. Rules relating to the coronapas Covid-19 health pass could also be broadened.

Published: 24 November 2021 16:37 CET
Updated: 24 November 2021 17:43 CET
Danish health minister Magnus Heunicke briefs press on the plan to reintroduce facemask rules in response to a winter 2021 surge of Covid-19 cases.
Danish health minister Magnus Heunicke briefs press on the plan to reintroduce facemask rules in response to a winter 2021 surge of Covid-19 cases. Photo: Nils Meilvang/Ritzau Scanpix

Health Minister Magnus Heunicke confirmed at a ministry press briefing on Wednesday that the government will seek to reimplement face mask rules requiring the protective garment to be worn on public transport and in stores.

“We have a different epidemic in front of us now. The Delta variant is much more infectious and it is a challenge for us. We must therefore put these tools into use,” Heunicke said.

The government also wants to bring back face mask requirements in health and social care settings such as hospitals, clinics and community care.

The move, which is a recommendation from the government’s advisory Epidemic Commission, must not be opposed by the relevant parliamentary committee in order to come into effect.

The committee will meet tomorrow, Heunicke said at the briefing.

Should the committee approve the measure, it could come into effect from Monday November 29th, the minister said.

A total of 4,426 new cases of the virus were confirmed by infectious disease agency State Serum Institute (SSI) on Wednesday. That is the highest figure yet in 2021, breaking the record set 24 hours prior.

Face mask rules were previously in place in Denmark from autumn 2020 before being phased out during summer 2021, and were fully lifted in August.

In addition to the return of face masks, the government wants to change the rules on the Covid-19 health pass used in Denmark, the coronapas.

Specifically, the period for which a negative Covid-19 test gives a valid coronapas will be reduced to 72 hours for a negative PCR test and 48 hours for a negative rapid antigen test.

Currently, unvaccinated people can hold a valid coronapas for 96 hours through a negative PCR test, or 72 hours with a rapid antigen test.

“The old rules prevent 50 percent of infections. The new rules prevent two thirds of infections [compared to not using a coronapas in the same settings, ed.],” Henrik Ullum, the head of the national infectious disease agency SSI, said at the briefing.

The health pass will also be extended to be required at public sector workplaces and vocational and youth colleges (voksen- og ungdomsuddannelser), as well as at hairdressers, tattooists and similar services. Visitors to elderly care homes will also be required to present a coronapas.

It is currently required at bars, cafes, restaurants and large events.

The director of the Danish Health Authority Søren Brostrøm said at the briefing that health authorities were not in favour of applying coronapas rules to public transport.

“It would be a big job to check for a green coronapas on public transport. We have therefore concluded that face masks would be the most efficient (option),” Brostrøm said.

“You might also need to be on public transport without a green coronapas because you are on your way to get a test,” he noted.

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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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