Yesterday Statens Serum Institut (SSI), the agency responsible for preparedness against infectious diseases, reported that the reproduction number of infections rose (DK) during the first week after the country reopened schools and small businesses. The measure, aka R0, indicates how many people one infected person passes the infection on to. If it is below 1.0, the virus is declining in prevalence. Before the reopening, in the period April 10-14, R0 had fallen to 0.6. After the reopening, in the period April 19-24, it rose to 0.9. The spread of the infection is thus not increasing. The rise in R0 had been expected after the relaxation of lockdown restrictions. Hospitalizations, which are a clearer measure of the spread of the virus, have been falling steadily since April 1.

Teenagers will be teenagers 

Kåre Mølbak, the head of SSI, reported that, while the overall spread of the virus remained under control, it has risen sharply among a certain segment of the population. For teenagers, it has doubled (DK) during the month of April. It rose from 4 per 100,000 in weeks 12-14 to 11 per 100,00 in weeks 15-17. The rate is still much lower than that of the elderly. For those over 80, the rate was 47 per 100,000 in the latter period. The information on the spread of the virus was presented to Parliament as they consider whether to reopen high schools and other educational institutions in the next phase of the lockdown exit. 

Mølbak did not make any recommendations about the reopening policy. He stated that young people do not run a great risk of becoming ill but the figures show that there may be a hidden dissemination of the virus that could pose a challenge during a further relaxation of restrictions. He added that young people sometimes have trouble taking such warnings seriously if they want to meet with their friends but they should consult their consciences and realize that they also have a responsibility to society.

IKEA again again

(The Danish phrase for “yet again” is “igen igen.”) After criticizing IKEA for reopening and then receiving criticism himself for his comments, Simon Kollerup, Minister for Business, has announced more concrete guidelines for large retailers (DK). The new rule is that stores larger than 10,000 square meters (100,000 sq. feet) must allow a space of 20 square meters (200 sq. feet) for each customer. Previously the general recommendation was that there must be only 4 square meters per customer. Other requirements are that customers must be able to walk past one another and stand in line at 2 meters’ distance, that the restaurant and children’s playroom must remain closed, and that there must be adequate supplies of sanitizer or soap and water. Kollerup reported that he had held constructive discussions with retailers and trade associations, and IKEA announced that it would be ready to comply with the new rule today.

As I reported yesterday, the parliamentary opposition has criticized the government for changing the policies during the crisis. Yesterday Magnus Heunicke, the Minister for Health, defended the government’s decisions (DK) to revise its policies. He said that it would be unwise to follow a fixed policy when new information about the spread of the virus is always appearing. Heunicke was questioned by opposition parties particularly about the Health Authority’s guidelines concerning the risk of infection from asymptomatic persons, which were not clarified until April 21, and their significance for the safety of healthcare personnel. Heunicke said that the Health Authority was following the WHO’s recommendations but that it had mentioned the risk earlier.

Terror, death of a poet, and praise from the fake newsmaker

While the Covid-19 crisis grinds along, other things are also happening in Denmark: Police and special forces arrested a radical Islamist (DK) who was allegedly planning a terror attack in Denmark. The young poet Yahya Hassan (DK), who caused a sensation a few years ago with his provocative upper-case exhortations and later ran into trouble with the law, was found dead in his home. And the president of the United States, who is best known for his lies and disinformation, compared Denmark’s pandemic strategy favorably to Sweden’s.