Denmark and Norway scrap most coronavirus restrictions, becoming two of the first EU countries to do so
- Despite an Omicron surge, Denmark no longer considers the Covid-19 outbreak ‘a socially critical disease’, while Norway says society must ‘live with’ the virus
- The Scandinavian countries both have high vaccination rates, and their health systems have not been overwhelmed despite the soaring number of cases
Denmark and Norway on Tuesday became two of the first European Union countries to scrap most pandemic restrictions.
Despite a surge in Covid-19 cases from the Omicron variant, Denmark no longer considers the outbreak “a socially critical disease”, as it is not placing a heavy burden on the health system and the country has a high vaccination rate, officials have said.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish radio it is too early to know if measures may have to make a comeback.
“I dare not say that it is a final goodbye to restrictions,” she said. “We do not know what will happen in the fall. Whether there will be a new variant.”
Denmark, a nation of 5.8 million, has in recent weeks seen more than 50,000 daily cases on average while the number of people in hospital intensive care units has dropped.