Denmark no longer considers COVID-19 a “socially critical disease”

On Tuesday, Denmark lifted pandemic-related restrictions after deeming that COVID-19 is no longer a “socially critical disease.”

Domestic regulations, including limits on indoor gatherings, face masks, and COVID passes to enter venues, have been lifted. A few restrictions for unvaccinated travelers arriving from non-Schengen countries remain.

Danish Health Authority Head Soren Brostrom remarked that rather than the number of COVID-19 infections, his attention was on the number of infection-related ICU cases, which has “fallen and is incredibly low.”

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen noted that the country was “in a good place” and commended the high national vaccination rates. Officials report that 60% of Danes have received a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Frederiksen, however, stated that the pandemic was still of some concern, adding, “I dare not say that it is a final goodbye to restrictions. We do not know what will happen in the fall, whether there will be a new variant.”