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COVID-19 RULES

Denmark to allow 1,500 to attend cinemas and indoor venues

A majority in the Danish parliament has agreed to allow attendances of up to 1,500 at indoor culture and sports venues, overruling the minority government.

Crowds of up to 1,500 will be allowed at Danish handball matches along with cultural venues such as cinemas, theatres and concert halls from January 16th.
Crowds of up to 1,500 will be allowed at Danish handball matches along with cultural venues such as cinemas, theatres and concert halls from January 16th. File photo: Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix

Conservative parties, along with the centre-left Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre), agreed on Thursday to allow venues such as cinemas, theatres, museums, concert venues and sports halls to have attendances of up to 1,500 for events, provided that the crowd is separated into three blocks of 500.

The new rules will apply from Sunday January 16th.

The government had preferred to restrict crowds at venues – which have been closed since December 19th – to 500, which was itself a higher number than the 350 recommended by the advisory Epidemic Commission.

READ ALSO: Covid-19: Denmark eases culture restrictions but keeps nightlife curbs

“It is clear that when a majority in parliament wants to go a little further than what we proposed, we naturally will comply with that,” said Kasper Sand Kjær, the culture spokesperson with the Social Democrats, who form Denmark’s minority government.

The model of splitting crowds into sections of 500, with separate exits, entrances and seating areas, has previously been used during the pandemic in Denmark at football stadiums, earning it the term the “Superliga model”.

“This is a known model and our culture sector and sports clubs have managed separate sections before. I’m confident that they also will be able to this time,” Kjær said.

“With that said, this is further than the Commission recommends. There is naturally a risk in that,” he added.

Liberal party culture spokesperson Jan E. Jørgensen declared himself satisfied with the government concession.

“I’m very satisfied but what’s important is that the cultural sector is satisfied. Because what the government suggested was of no use at all,” he said.

Thursday saw Denmark’s daily total for new Covid-19 cases back over 25,000 for the first time since last week after a dip in numbers during the weekend.

25,751 new cases were registered from 211,603 PCR tests, giving a positivity rate of 12.17 percent.

755 people with Covid-19 are currently admitted to hospitals nationally, including people admitted for reasons other than Covid-19 but who have returned a positive PCR test.

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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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