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COVID-19 RULES

PM says Denmark still faces difficulties with Omicron variant

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Wednesday that Denmark is not clear of the coronavirus crisis and that the Omicron variant remains a potential threat to the country.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that Covid-19 including the Omicron variant remains a threat to Denmark, after some upbeat recent messaging from health officials.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that Covid-19 including the Omicron variant remains a threat to Denmark, after some upbeat recent messaging from health officials. Photo: Ólafur Steinar Rye Gestsson/Ritzau Scanpix

Frederiksen’s comments come in the wake of upbeat messaging from the country’s infectious disease agency, the State Serum Institute, which earlier this week suggested ‘normal’ life could return in two months and that Omicron could eventually contribute to immunity levels in the community.

READ ALSO: Covid-19: Denmark could return to ‘normal life in two months’

The Prime Minister’s comments were made in a Facebook update posted in relation to the reopening of schools on Wednesday.

“The very infectious nature of Omicron can present a challenge to a society such as ours if it is allowed to run loose,” she wrote.

“It can lead to too many hospital admissions at once. And too much and too fast transmission can risk businesses and public institutions having to close,” she wrote.

“Then there won’t be enough people to drive trains, care for children elderly and the sick or keep production moving,” she wrote.

Frederiksen echoed the appeals of health authorities by calling for more parents to get their children vaccinated.

“With the return to school in mind I again encourage parents to consider getting your children vaccinated as soon as possible,” she wrote.

Health spokespersons from the various parliamentary parties were scheduled to attend talks with the health minister, Magnus Heunicke, on Wednesday afternoon.

When the current Covid-19 restrictions were announced in December, parliament agreed to make an assessment by January 5th as to whether it will be necessary to keep the measures in place beyond January 17th. 

Several parties now support easing restrictions after health authorities said the Omicron variant normally causes more mild disease than the previously-dominant Delta variant, but the government has so far rejected calls to make changes.

Frederiksen wrote in regard to restrictions that “they have helped to put a dampener on transmission”.

“And it has been important to put a stop to potential super spreader events, including in nightlife,” she wrote.

The sales of alcohol is currently banned between 10pm and 5am and bars, restaurants and cafes must close at 11pm.

“Authorities are continually monitoring the situation and this will also be discussed with parties in parliament,” Frederiksen wrote.

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COVID-19 RULES

Denmark gives mink farmer suspended sentence for illegal breeding

A mink breeder located in West Jutland has been handed a fine and suspended prison sentence for keeping the animals while a national ban on the trade was in place.

Denmark gives mink farmer suspended sentence for illegal breeding

The breeder was prosecuted for continuing to breed minks while a ban against the trade was in place due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The breeder, based in West Jutland village Thyholm, was found to have 126 minks at his farm during an inspection in December 2021.

The conditional prison sentence, given after a ruling at the Holstebro Court, includes a community service requirement. The company with which the farmer is director must pay a fine of 100,000 kroner.

Denmark banned mink breeding in late 2020 over concerns about potential Covid variants that could emerge from the farms. The ban was lifted at the end of last year.

During the trial, the farmer claimed the animals weren’t his, and that he was looking after them for someone else.

“It was minks I looked after for others. They [the owners, ed.] came by and checked them,” he is reported to have said.

Private ownership of up to five minks was permitted while the ban on fur breeding was in place.

During the inspection, the Danish Veterinary and Food Agency (Fødevarestyrelsen) found the animals being kept “in farm-like conditions” with feed and medicines also discovered at the address.

A vet from the agency said during the trial that he was in no doubt that breeding was at play.

“They were kept in cages that millions of other minks were kept in. The cages were fastened with plastic strips so there was nothing to suggest this was pets,” he said.

The agency culled all 126 minks during the inspection, in line with Denmark’s Covid-19 controls at the time.

The farmer is reported to be considering an appeal against the decision.

READ ALSO: Half of Denmark’s mink breeders did not take Covid-19 tests despite requests

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