From Tuesday evening at 11 p.m. there are no longer any restrictions on the serving of alcoholic beverages. According to the government, popular sports and other leisure activities can be resumed without restrictions, and cinemas, theaters and churches can be fully occupied again.
Restrictions on participants will be lifted for meetings, as will the obligation to test for those entering the country. However, the mask requirement in shops, on public transport and in other situations with possible crowds remains in place, as Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said at a press conference in Oslo on Tuesday evening. The general one-meter distance rule will also remain in force until further notice.
“Today we finally got where we can lift a lot of the infection control measures we’ve been living with over the winter,” Støre said. It is now known that the burden of disease from the omicron variant of the coronavirus is lower and that the vaccines provide good protection for many people in Norway.
Therefore, many measures can be lifted, although the number of new infections is increasing rapidly. In order to remain in control, however, some measures would have to remain. The Norwegian government aims to lift the final restrictions by February 17 – if the situation continues to develop as expected.
No masks, no vaccination certificates
Despite the continued high number of new infections, Denmark practically all corona restrictions gone on Tuesday. Mouth and nose protection will no longer have to be worn in the northern EU country. Proof of vaccinations, convalescence and negative tests via Corona passport are no longer necessary. Major events can take place unhindered. Nightlife can also take place again. Covid-19 is no longer classified as a “socially critical disease”.
In September last year had Denmark already been completely dismissed from the restrictions. But then the number of new infections rose again, which is why they were gradually reintroduced. Today, the EU country has a daily number of new infections in the mid five-digit range – these are highs that were hard to imagine before the emergence of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in November.
However, these numbers have not impacted the intensive care units as much as feared. Milder disease progression in omicron infections and high vaccination numbers are the main reasons why the Danes decided to relax comprehensively. Individual entry rules, especially for those who have not been vaccinated, remain the only restriction.
Source: Nachrichten
