Denmark will no longer require vaccination passports or masks

Denmark is leading the way among Scandinavian countries in lifting all internal restrictions for citizens and visitors alike, just weeks after imposing some of Europe’s strictest Covid mandates due to the rapid spread of Omicron.

In additional good news for overseas visitors, all post-arrival testing has been eliminated. Until until, all travellers, whether or not they had been vaccinated, were expected to undergo thorough testing upon arrival in Copenhagen or other Danish entry ports.

What Will Change in Denmark Beginning February 1st?

According to the Danish government, all Covid restrictions will be lifted in Denmark on February 1. The step comes in response to a suggestion by the country’s Epidemic Commission, which has advised the government on pandemic measures since the crisis began.

Despite the fact that their website has yet to be updated with additional information, SchengenVisaInfo has learned that a slew of restrictions, including mandatory mask-wearing, the presentation of health passes for entry into venues, curfews, as well as post-arrival testing and quarantine, will all be eliminated in early February.

And there’s more: the Health Ministry’s news release notes a recommendation that Denmark discontinue its current harsher pre-entry testing requirement after January 31, however the government has yet to declare whether it would follow this specific proposal and end pre-departure testing.

The country’s Epidemic Commission, on the other hand, is said to have encouraged the government to keep the previous general limits in place “prior to the adoption of the tighter temporary regulations.” They should be continued from February 1 and “provisionally” until February 28, according to the press statement.

Although the Commission did not specify what these “general limits” are, the Commission may be referring to immunization for easier access and stricter procedures for individuals who have not had their jabs. Regardless of the decision, it’s safe to assume that certain border controls will remain in place after February 1st.

New Border Measures Are Yet To Be Officially Outlined

While internal restrictions are about to expire, Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke has stated that the government is “looking for an answer” from Parliament on whether the aforementioned entrance requirements for passengers should be extended.

Despite opening its doors to vaccinated Americans and Canadians with little to no restrictions in the summer of 2021, Denmark has since reversed course and now requires immunized people to demonstrate a negative PCR test within 72 hours of entrance (or a rapid antigen in under 48 hours).

For the time being, it is thought that pre-departure testing will continue to be effective regardless of more relaxed domestic laws, particularly for people who enter Denmark without proof of immunization. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the country would continue to streamline its complicated country classification.

Travel from specific places has been severely restricted, with arrivals from “high-risk” destinations subjected to additional testing and quarantine if they are not vaccinated. Americans who want to visit the Viking homeland are usually included in this group.

Only a few countries and territories, such as Bahrain, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, Kuwait, New Zealand, Peru, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, are exceptions.

Denmark will join an increasing number of European countries in loosening health restrictions.

Denmark’s great news follows that of other European countries such as the United Kingdom and Ireland, which have gone even farther and recently abolished all vaccination testing requirements for travelers.

From February 1, the European Union, of which Denmark is a member, will align on the validity of health passes and booster requirements, putting an end to the dreaded patchwork of restrictions that have been every traveler’s worst nightmare across the continent.

Despite the fact that the new measures are still being debated in Denmark, the fact that neighboring Norway is moving away from tight Covid mandates suggests that Scandinavia as a whole is now taking a more relaxed attitude to the pandemic.
Despite the fact that the pandemic is “still here,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen declared, “we now dare to assume that we have passed the critical period.”

Denmark is also one of the world’s most vaccinated countries, and its decision to reduce vaccination requirements after January 31 could indicate that the country is ready to reclassify Covid as an endemic illness.
The World Health Organization will undoubtedly appreciate Denmark’s decision to streamline testing regulations in order to relieve traveler burdens, however they remain adamant that industrialized countries should consider the pandemic to be gone.

Source: https://bit.ly/3uhqXVF