Denmark: Authorities tighten COVID-19 restrictions nationwide from September 19 /update 16

Event

Danish authorities will tighten restrictions related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) nationwide from Saturday, September 19, following an increase in cases in recent weeks. The tightened restrictions will go into effect at 22:00 (local time). Bars and restaurants must close and all private gatherings must end by 22:00, with gatherings limited to a maximum of 50 people. The restrictions will remain in place until at least October 4.

For the purpose of foreign travel, Demark has classified foreign countries as either 'open' or 'banned'. Persons resident in 'open' countries are free to enter Denmark for any purpose. Those resident in 'banned' countries or provinces can only enter Denmark for essential purposes, which include work, study, and family reasons. As a rule, countries outside the EU, Schengen Area, and the United Kingdom are defined as banned countries unless included on the exemption list. The list of countries open or banned is updated every Thursday by the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) and can be found here.

As of Friday, September 18, there have been 21,847 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Denmark with 635 associated fatalities. Further international spread of the virus is to be expected in the near term.

Context

The first case of COVID-19 was reported on December 31 and the source of the outbreak has been linked to a wet market in Wuhan (Hubei province, China). Since then, human-to-human transmission of the virus has been confirmed.

Cases of the virus have been confirmed in numerous countries and territories worldwide. On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the global outbreak a pandemic. Virus-screening and quarantining measures are being implemented at airports worldwide, as well as extensive travel restrictions.

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Some patients may experience other symptoms such as body pains, nasal congestion, headache, conjunctivitis, sore throat, diarrhea, loss of taste or smell or a rash on skin or discoloration of fingers or toes. These symptoms (in most cases mild) appear gradually. Generally, most patients (around 80 percent) recover from the disease without being hospitalized.

Advice

Measures adopted by local authorities evolve quickly and are usually effective immediately. Depending on the evolution of the outbreak in other countries, authorities are likely to modify, at very short notice, the list of countries whose travelers are subject to border control measures or entry restrictions upon their arrival to the territory in question. It is advised to postpone nonessential travel due to the risk that travelers may be refused entry or be subject to quarantine upon their arrival or during their stay.

To reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, travelers are advised to abide by the following measures: