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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Find out what's going on in Denmark today with The Local's short roundup of news.

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
Air travel with SAS increased 89 percent from June 2020 to June 2021. Photo: Tt News Agency/Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix

The increase in new Covid-19 cases is driven by people aged 20-29

There have been 658 new cases of Covid-19 registered in Denmark, reports the Statens Serum Institut (SSI). It’s the second day in a row with more than 600 new infections.

The number of daily infections has approximately quadrupled since reaching their lowest level in 2021 at the end of June.

It is young people between the ages of 20 and 29 who are driving the rise in cases, said Allan Randrup Thomsen, professor of virology at Copenhagen University.

Although young people face a reduced risk of serious complications with Covid-19, some young people may have serious long-term health effects from the disease, Thomsen said. And the more infected, the greater the risk of new variants, he added.

Return of the tourist? New numbers and initiatives indicate growth

It came as no surprise when tourism organisation VisitDenmark’s recent analysis found that Denmark’s top 50 attractions had 42.8 percent fewer guests in 2020, compared to 2019.

Even though Danes limited to domestic tourism helped, it wasn’t enough to offset the absence of foreign tourists. However, new numbers from the flight and hotel industries indicate a return of tourism to Denmark. 

Scandinavian airline SAS has reported 609,000 passengers in June, an increase of 89 percent from June 2020. Norwegian Airlines reported twice as many passengers in June 2021 compared to June 2020.

Hotels are also reporting improved numbers, via Danmarks Statistik. Overnight stays in hotels have increased 210 percent from May 2020 to May 2021, although they remain 53 percent lower than May 2019.

As the travel industry continues its recovery, it will need to hire additional staff. 

Copenhagen Business House (Københavns Erhvervshus) and Copenhagen’s Job Center (Jobcenter København) announced on Wednesday an effort to assist the city’s hotels, restaurants and cafes find the staff they need as the reopening continues. 

Their efforts include outreach to test centers who may soon shrink staff as test capacity is reduced.

Grocery delivery turns to digital keys in urban areas

Grocery delivery services boomed during the Covid-19 pandemic. As we continue a return toward normalcy and spend less time at home, online supermarkets like Nemlig.com are turning to digital keys to keep grocery delivery convenient. 

Through a new collaboration with the Danish company Bekey, Nemlig.com can now deliver groceries to locked staircases night and day without the customers having to be at home.

When Nemlig.com launched the option to have groceries delivered without the customer being home about a year ago, it required that the driver could place the groceries at the front door. However, it was a service most often used by customers living outside major urban areas. 

The digital key aims to open up that service to customers living in apartments. In one month, use of the digital keys for grocery delivery has grown by 50 percent. 

To see if your building has Bekey’s digital key capabilities, log in to Nemlig.com and choose a delivery time. If Bekey is installed at your address, you can select ‘Flexible Delivery’ even if you live in a locked stairwell.

Everyone over the age of 16 can now get vaccinated in Denmark

Denmark’s National Board of Health announced July 9th that everyone over the age of 16 is now invited to receive their Covid-19 vaccine. Most recently, they invited people between the ages of 30 and 34 to get vaccinated. 

Next, they will extend the offer to parents of children between the ages of 12 and 15.

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TODAY IN DENMARK

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Danish parties agree to raise abortion term limit, Novo Nordic, Maersk and Vestas post results, colder weather to return, and other news from Denmark on Friday.

Today in Denmark: A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks 

Denmark’s government has struck a deal with four other parties to raise the maximum gestation period at which a foetus can be aborted from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, in the first change to Danish abortion law in 50 years. 

The government struck the deal with the Socialist Left Party, the Red Green Alliance, the Social Liberal Party and the Alternativet party. 

“In terms of health, there is no evidence for the current week limit, nor is there anything to suggest that there will be significantly more or later abortions by moving the week limit,” Sophie Løhde, Denmark’s Minister of the Interior and Health, said announving the deal. 

Danish vocabulary: abortgrænsen – abortion limit 

Colder weather to return on weekend 

Friday will be the last day in the current spell of 20C temperatures, with colder, rainier weather returning on the weekend.  According to the Denmark’s state forecaster DMI, a cold front will arrive in Denmark on Friday evening, bringing rain, colder temperatures of 7C-12C overnight and local thunderstorms. 

On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, temperatures will be between 13C and 18C, with rain in some places, with sunnier weather expected from Tuesday.  

Danish voabulary: en byge – a shower

Vestas, Maersk and Novo Nordisk report results

Novo Nordisk reported soaring profits, Maersk falling ones, and Vestas, the world’s number one wind turbine maker, posted a loss, as Denmark’s biggest companies posted results for the first three months of the year. 

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk reported more soaring profits Thursday on the back of its anti-diabetes and weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Its net profit reached 25.4 billion kroner ($3.6 billion) in the first quarter, a 28 percent jump from the same period last year, the company said in a statement.

Vestas said on Thursday it had swung to a 75-million-euro ($80-million) loss in the first quarter and warned “geopolitical volatility” would continue to cause uncertainty. Revenue fell 5.2 percent to 2.68 billion euros in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period a year earlier. Its net loss followed a net profit of 16 million euros in the first quarter of 2023. The value of its order backlog reached a record high €61 billion.

Maersk profits plummeted as Yemeni attacks closed off its vital Red Sea route, with the company reporting a net profit of $177 million in the first three months of the year, a 13-fold drop from the same period last year. 

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