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COVID-19 RULES

Denmark ‘could lift all’ Covid-19 restrictions at end of January

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is expected to announce that Danish Covid-19 restrictions will end on January 31st, according to reports.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at a previous press briefing. Frederiksen could announce an end to domestic Covid-19 restrictions on January 31st.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at a previous press briefing. Frederiksen could announce an end to domestic Covid-19 restrictions on January 31st. Photo: Ólafur Steinar Rye Gestsson/Ritzau Scanpix

The end of restrictions could mean all domestic curbs end although travel rules may remain in place, according to reports from several media outlets. Restrictions are currently set to expire on January 31st.

Frederiksen will announce the decision at a government briefing on Wednesday evening, newspaper Jyllands-Posten writes, citing anonymous sources.

The Prime Minister’s office told news wire Ritzau that the scheduling for the briefing was yet to be confirmed.

In addition to lifting restrictions, Frederiksen is expected to announce that Covid-19 will no longer be categorised as a critical threat to society.

The classification, currently scheduled to expire on January 5th, is important because it impacts the ability of the government to introduce restrictions aimed at curbing spread of the virus.

READ ALSO: Why is ‘critical threat’ status of Covid-19 important in Denmark?

The independent Epidemic Commission has recommended the removal of restrictions, according to Jyllands-Posten.

Another Danish newspaper, Politiken, reports that the Commission cites a change in the nature of the Covid-19 epidemic in Denmark as justifying the end of restrictions while infection numbers are higher than at any previous time during the last two years.

“We have a new epidemic situation where high and increasing transmissions do not transfer to admissions to hospitals to the same extent as before,” the Commission said in its recommendations according to Politiken.

Travel restrictions including entry testing and quarantine rules should, however, be extended for a further four weeks, the Commission said according to broadcaster TV2.

READ ALSO: Danish travel rules: What’s the difference between ‘risk’ and ‘high risk’ countries?

While daily infection totals have continued to grow in recent weeks, the number of patients in hospital with Covid-19 has not increased by a corresponding amount and the number of patients admitted to ICUs has begun to decline.

An additional 46,950 new cases of the virus were registered on Tuesday with hospital patients with Covid-19 up to 918. This includes 222 people admitted to psychiatric wards who have Covid-19 but it is not the cause of their admission.

44 patients at Danish hospitals are under intensive care treatment for Covid-19, with 28 of them receiving ventilator treatment.

The Danish Health Authority on Monday announced an easing of self-isolation rules following a positive Covid-19 test.

READ ALSO: What are Denmark’s new rules for isolation after testing positive for Covid-19?

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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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