Denmark: Authorities advise against non-essential travel to Belgium and Malta August 14 /update 13

Event

On Friday, August 14, Danish authorities advised against travel to Belgium and Malta due to a rise in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in both countries. Due to the new advisory, travelers returning from Belgium and Malta will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days upon their arrival in Denmark from midnight (local time) on Friday.

Denmark halted the further easing of restrictions on limits to public gatherings on August 6. The country originally planned to raise the limit on public gatherings to 200 people on August 8, as it was set to enter the fourth phase of reopening. The pause on reopening measures may also be applied to other plans that were set to take place in August, such as the reopening of night clubs and music venues. The decision comes after Denmark's health authorities advised against further easing of COVID-19 restrictions on August 4, to keep the epidemic under control in the country. Denmark's current limit on public gatherings is 100 people.

As of August 14, there have been 15,755 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Denmark with 621 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: