Pandemic-induced lockdown protocol will be gradually introduced across Denmark starting on Thursday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced, with a total shutdown planned by Christmas Day.
Shopping centres and malls will be shut from Thursday onwards, with more businesses following suit on Monday and all retailers shuttering their stores between December 25 and January 3.
“We are doing this because an epidemic that runs out of control would have great consequences and bigger consequences than closing down now will have,” Frederiksen said in a statement on Wednesday.
Essential stores like supermarkets and pharmacies will remain open for the duration of the lockdown.
Denmark employs a 1-5 scale for rating the pandemic situation based on the number of COVID-19 fatalities and patients in the nation’s five healthcare administrative regions.
“We have reached a risk level of four in the entire country, the second-highest level. That means authorities believe there [will be a] widespread outbreak in society,” the Danish leader said.
Denmark’s approach to COVID-19 is markedly different from its neighbour, Sweden, which opted for a herd immunity tactic that has resulted in more than 7,600 deaths to date.
In comparison, Denmark - with a population roughly half of Sweden - has a death toll currently approaching 970. But the worst may have yet to come.
Nearly 2,000 Danish health workers were diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last week according to health minister Magnus Heunicke.
“The infection is now everywhere in society and it is in our hospitals,” he said. “But it is important that the health service is still open.”
The country reported 14 deaths due to the coronavirus on Wednesday, which is the highest daily figure since mid-May when the virus reached Denmark.
Even so, national authorities are hesitant to institute travel bans. At a press conference, Danish health authority director Soren Brostrom pointed to “clear and precise” social distancing rules that should ward off a potential national outbreak.
In addition to shuttering schools and businesses, the government has asked people to gather in groups of less than 10 people.
