Denmark lifted all domestic Covid restrictions on Friday, after 548 days of regulations, according to the Associated Press.
With no masks in sight, buzzing offices, and tens of thousands attending concerts, Denmark ditched vaccine passports in nightclubs on Friday, bringing the country’s final Covid restriction to an end.
With more than 80% of people over the age of 12 fully vaccinated, the country announced that it would begin a return to normalcy, as proof of vaccination via a digital pass is no longer required to enter nightclubs — the country’s last restriction.
The WHO, however, continues to view the global situation as critical and has advised caution.
“I wouldn’t say it is too early. We have opened the door but we have also said that we can close it if needed,” Soeren Riis Paludan, a professor of virology with the Aarhus University in Denmark, told the AP.
“The epidemic is under control, we have record vaccination levels,” Denmark’s health minister, Magnus Heunicke, said in August. “That is why we can drop the special rules we had to introduce in the fight against COVID-19.”
Heunicke, on the other hand, remained cautious, warning that the pandemic was far from over and that the government would “act quickly” if new cases emerged.
“Nobody should have the illusion that we are over this,” Jens Lundgren, a professor of viral diseases at the Copenhagen University Hospital, told the AP.
However, wearing a face mask or shield is still required at airports, and it is recommended that people wear one when visiting the doctor, testing centres, or hospitals.
On August 14, the country lifted its face mask mandate, kicking off the lifting restrictions.
Denmark did not go into lockdown or close any businesses at the start of the pandemic. Instead, they relied on people staying at home out of civic duty to keep the infection under control.
