Danish Health Minister Says Lockdowns on Table If More People Don’t Get Vaccinated

Coming a period aft Denmark removed each COVID-19 restrictions, the apical Danish wellness authoritative warned that the state whitethorn beryllium locked down again if much radical aren’t vaccinated.

“Even though we are astatine an incredibly precocious level … if we are to support Denmark open, past we indispensable person much radical to get the vaccine,” Minister of Health Magnus Heunicke told Danish transmission TV2, adding that caller shutdowns could beryllium apt successful the adjacent future.

In September, Danish authorities successful the highly vaccinated Scandinavian federation ended the past of its pandemic-related restrictions arsenic wellness officials determination said COVID-19 is nary longer a “critical menace to society.” Denmark appeared to person been the archetypal European Union federation to contented specified a declaration.

However, Heunicke’s comments this week to the broadcaster suggest that authorities are weighing their options. To date, astir 75 percent of the Danish colonisation is afloat vaccinated, but information provided by the country’s wellness ministry shows that cases have been rising successful caller days with much than 1,000 regular cases of COVID-19 implicit 7 days.

“We knew determination would beryllium an summation this fall. But it is nary concealed that that summation has travel beauteous rapidly already present successful the period of October,” helium said, according to an English translation.

Heunicke said that Danish wellness authorities antecedently stated they “will not hesitate to intervene if the request arises,” adding that “we person a very, precise ample enactment from the colonisation to beryllium vaccinated.”

Denmark’s absorption enactment Venstre said that Heunicke broke a cardinal statement by threatening to reimpose pandemic restrictions. Venstre wellness spokesman Martin Geertsen deemed the menace unacceptable and a “completely chaotic message.”

“We person been promised, truthful to speak, by wellness authorities that erstwhile we had the vaccines … we got escaped of restrictions and shutdowns,” Geertsen told TV2.

Denmark was 1 of the precise archetypal European nations to enforce a lockdown successful March 2020 and forced the closure of galore businesses and schools. Throughout the people of the pandemic, similar others, the state has relaxed and tightened lockdown measures.

On April 21, Denmark besides became 1 of the archetypal countries to instrumentality a COVID-19 vaccine passport system. At the time, Danish Council connected Ethics had requested that the vaccine walk beryllium utilized for the shortest clip imaginable and support backstage information.

Earlier this month, Denmark said it joined Sweden and Finland successful restricting the usage of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for younger property groups. However, Danish Health Agency aboriginal told news outlets that its “recommendations person not changed,” appearing to rescind the erstwhile order.

COVID-19 is the unwellness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.