Danish PM announces schedule for the reopening of Denmark

Photo: Meyer Sound.

On the evening of 6 April 2020, the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced the first elements of the complicated plan that will allow Denmark to reopen – but ‘gradually, controlled and slowly’, according to the Danish Prime Minister at a press meeting.

The Prime Minister stressed that there are a lot of dynamic and unknown elements that can affect the situation, as the plan to reopen Denmark depends on a stable amount of corona-caused hospitalizations. To avoid a spike in hospitalizations the Prime Minister asked the Danish public to continue their practice of social distancing and to follow the guidance of the Danish authorities.

“Denmark still has to live with restrictions for many months to come,” said Mette Frederiksen at the press meeting as she presented the governments’ plan to reopen Denmark.

 

Most educational institutions are still ‘on hold’

The educational institutions for the youngest kids such daycare, kindergarten, hobby-clubs and school for 0. to 5. grade will reopen as of 15 April 2020 – although the final decision of reopening depends on the local district councils’ evaluation of the local health situation.

The Prime Minister announced that upon the reopening of the institutions for the smallest kids, there will be implemented rules for daycares, kindergartens and schools, such as ‘kids and adults should spend as much time outdoors as possible’ and ‘keep distance’. The rules also demand that children should stay home if there even is the smallest speculation of illness. The rules are made by Danish health authorities.

Students from 6. till 10. grade will continue to stay at home until 10 May 2020. The students are still expected to study as they normally would. The students that would have graduated from elementary school will still graduate – but without exams. As a compensation, the students’ last assignment marks of the schoolyear will be their final grades.

Danish high schools will continue to be closed until summer, where the oldest students will return to prepare for their last subjects and exams – although the Ministry of Education haven’t made a final decision regarding high school exams.

Universities and other further educational institutions will also continue to be physically closed until 10 May 2020. Some educations that are critical for society such as medicine-majors and social- and health assistants will reopen on the last semester of the degree.

 

The business sector will possibly experience a small reopening

All public employees with non-critical functions will continue to be sent home until 10 May 2020, where they should be able to return to their jobs. The employees will be sent home fully paid and are instructed to work from home.

But the Prime Minister stated that there will a very small reopening in sight for private businesses – although the government still strongly recommend private companies to send their employees home. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that the Danish authorities will participate in meetings with relevant business- and employee’s organizations to discuss the possibilities of home sent employees returning to their jobs as of 14 April 2020, if they work under the right safety conditions.

Nightclubs, bars, pubs, restaurants, cafés, malls, arcardes, indoors sports facilities, indoors swimming pools, cinemas, theaters and tanning salons will be closed until 10 May. Public cultural institutions, libraries and churches will also continue to be closed until 10 May 2020.

The ban on liberal services such as hairdressers, tattoo-shops and massage palours will also last until 10 May 2020.

 

No large parties or festivals in the summer

The ban on social gatherings with more than 10 participants will last until 10 May 2020 – as a minimum, expressed the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at the press meeting. Large social events, such as music- and culture festivals, markets and other social events, will also be banned – but this ban will last until 31 August 2020.

That means there will be no music festivals, such as Roskilde Festival, Northside, Smukfest and Tinderbox, which normally dominates several weeks of the Danish summer. A sad time for the party-happy people of Denmark.

 

Source: Jyllands Posten

About Sofia Flittner

Journalist • ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. • Bangkok, Thailand

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