Denmark wants to abolish all corona measures as early as next week – despite the high omicron wave. Other countries are also taking this step. In Ireland, for example, almost all regulations have already been lifted.
Denmark wants to celebrate Freedom Day – again. Despite a seven-day incidence of more than 4,500 and the spread of a new omicron subvariant, the country plans to lift all corona restrictions early next week. the Danish government Corona and Covid-19 no longer want to be classified as “critical for society” – and thus also say masks, Corona passports and closures “farvel”. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is expected to announce the move on Wednesday.
background is one Recommendation of the Epidemic Commission of the state – comparable to the Corona Expert Council of the Federal Government. The latter has now proposed not to extend the classification of Covid-19 as a “critical illness” after it expires on February 5th. The commission recommends that the corona measures associated with this classification should no longer be continued after January 31. Test and quarantine regulations upon entry should therefore be continued for four weeks.
High number of infections, but few intensive care patients
Germany’s northern neighbor is deep in an omicron wave. After the number of infections initially seemed to stagnate, they rose again. On Tuesday more than 46,500 new infections reported in the country of 5.8 million inhabitants. The seven-day incidence on Tuesday was 4552.8. This is probably due to the omicron sub-variant BA.2. According to the state health institute Statens-Serum-Institut (SSI), this is now responsible for around half of all cases. It is considered potentially contagious.
The number of hospitalizations has also increased. The number of corona patients in Danish clinics is currently 918. It is interesting that this Statens Serum Institute (SSI) the number of patients in psychiatric departments is also included in this number. This is given as 222. However, the number of patients in the intensive care units is declining, as the figures from the SSI show.
This is also the reason why people in Denmark want to refrain from measures against Corona. The pressure on the hospitals is still great. But there is no risk of overloading. The epidemic commission also sees it that way. The high and increasing number of infections would “not be reflected in hospital admissions to the same extent as before”. “Overall, since the beginning of January there has been a stable development in the total number of admissions with a positive PCR test for Sars-CoV-2 and a declining number of admissions to intensive care units.”
Experts in Denmark hold opening responsible
Experts also consider it responsible to abolish all corona restrictions. “Although we have high infection rates, there are not many in intensive care or on ventilators. And among the elderly in nursing homes, not many are seriously ill. Health-wise, I don’t see any major problems,” said Allan Randrup Thomsen, professor of viral infections at the university Copenhagen, the Danish radio DR. However, he added that the infection numbers would initially rise and he would like to gradually phase out the restrictions. In his opinion, it would be better to wait to open discotheques and parts of cultural life.
Jes Søgaard, Professor of Health Economics at the University of Southern Denmark, does not think it will be a problem to lift the restrictions either: “It sounds reasonable to me, because the threat profile has changed since the turn of the year. It has been confirmed to us several times that the morbidity of Omikron much less than the previous variants, so I think the acute danger is over,” he told DR.
In Denmark, this also plays a role high vaccination rate. This is more than 80 percent for those who have been vaccinated twice. Almost 60 percent of people in Denmark have already received the booster vaccination. For comparison: In Germany 73.6 percent are double vaccinated and 51.3 are boosted.
Ireland has already gotten life back to normal
Another European country where a high vaccination rate has put an end to all measures is Ireland. Most of the strict restrictions introduced last month were lifted there on Saturday. The health situation has improved significantly, Prime Minister Michael Martin said on Friday. The number of new infections is falling, and the other key figures on which his government’s decisions are based are also going in the “right direction”: “We survived the Omicron storm.”
Proof of vaccination or recovery is no longer required to visit pubs, restaurants, nightclubs and other leisure facilities. Pubs, bars and restaurants no longer have to close in the early evening, and social distancing rules are also lifted. The number of visitors to indoor and outdoor events is no longer limited, private meetings at home are now possible again without restrictions. From Monday, employees can also gradually return to their regular jobs.
“We must learn to live with Covid”
However, the mask requirement on public transport and in shops should continue to apply until at least the end of February. 3G rules still apply to international travel, Martin said. At the same time, the Irish head of government warned that the pandemic was not over yet. After most restrictions are lifted, the number of infections is likely to increase again initially, but the impact is likely to be limited due to the high vaccination rate. In Ireland, almost 90 per cent of those over the age of 12 are fully vaccinated.
In neighboring Great Britain, they also want to relax again. “As Covid becomes endemic, we need to replace legal rules with advice and recommendations,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last Wednesday, announcing that most corona measures would soon be lifted. “We have to learn to live with Covid,” British Health Secretary Sajid Javid argued earlier this year.
When is the time in Germany?
In Spain, too, people now want to be more relaxed about Corona. The popular holiday destination wants to treat Covid-19 like flu. The left-leaning Spanish government is working to classify Covid as an endemic disease, with seasonal outbreaks that people can live with and that do not overwhelm the health system. This step is “timely and necessary,” says Health Minister Carolina Darias.
The conditions for such a change in strategy are better in Spain than in Germany, for example: 90.5 percent of the population over the age of twelve in the southern European country are fully vaccinated. Despite records in new infections due to the omicron wave, fewer people are dying than with previous virus variants and hospital admissions are falling.
And when is the time in Germany? Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) also assumes that Covid will eventually become endemic. For him, however, this is one more reason to push ahead with protective measures such as general vaccination. “If everything goes well and we manage to close the vaccination gaps with compulsory vaccination, we can go into an endemic situation this year,” he said in a newspaper interview at the beginning of January.