Denmark to lift all COVID-19 restrictions
Denmark will lift all domestic COVID-19 restrictions today.
The health ministry stated that the virus is no longer a critical threat due to the country’s high vaccination rates. Since April 2021, the government has instituted a “corona passport,” allowing vaccinated or COVID-negative citizens access to many public places. This will end for all venues today.
71% of Demark is fully vaccinated, making it the third-highest vaccinated country in the EU. However, health minister Magnus Heunicke has said the government would not hesitate to reimpose restrictions should cases rise. While domestic rules are lifted, travel restrictions enacted under a separate political agreement remain in place until October.
Short-term, cases will likely rise as Copenhagen lifts restrictions, especially as the highly contagious Delta variant surges worldwide. However, Copenhagen will likely combat this with reintroduced “corona passports” before imposing full lockdown measures. Medium-term, tourism will likely increase as fully vaccinated tourists from permitted countries flock to the open country, seeking to travel freely after a year of restrictions. Should tourism revenues rise above its usual 8% of GDP, this will provide a welcome boost to the nation’s economic recovery, as visitors spend more money in one of the few open EU countries.
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