Denmark lifted all domestic COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday, including the use of face masks, becoming the first fully open member of the European Union.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that the Nordic country was opened back up, due to a high vaccination rate, with a celebratory photo of her and Danish Conservative Party member Soren Pape posted on Facebook.
“Today is a great day, Denmark is completely open again,” Frederiksen said. “It is important that we can cooperate across parties in the Parliament. Opinions are at stake. That’s the way it should be. But in the end, we have to find common solutions.”
Including those who recently had the virus, Denmark’s health experts estimated that 80% of the population is protected against COVID-19. More than 60% of Danes have received a third dose of the vaccine.
“We have an extremely high coverage of adults vaccinated with three doses,” epidemiologist Lone Simonsen of the University of Roskilde told AFP. “With omicron not being a severe disease for the vaccinated, we believe it is reasonable to lift restrictions.”
Last week, Frederiksen told Danes to prepare to “welcome the life we knew before.”
With restrictions gone, the country will no longer limit the number of people allowed indoors or require the Danish coronavirus app to enter buildings. Nightclubs have reopened, and late-night alcohol sales resumed.
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“Finally, we can move on,” Henrik Parker told the BBC outside a local supermarket. “[It’s time to accept that] corona will just be part of the society.”
“I’m not against restrictions, but I feel like it’s the right time to lift them,” Rikke, a coffee shop employee, said. “Not a lot of people are in the hospital with it anymore, and a lot of people have had it already.”
Some people were seen still wearing masks on Tuesday but told the BBC that it was the right time to lift mandates.
“We also need to go back to normal,” Pia Clement said. “Otherwise, it might never end.”
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Restrictions will still apply to unvaccinated travelers crossing into Denmark’s borders. Face mask requirements in hospitals, healthcare facilities, and homes for the elderly will also remain.
