All parties in the Danish parliament agreed to extend the first phase of controlled re-opening in the country late Thursday night, according to a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office on Friday.
The agreement allows for several small businesses like hairdressers and certain liberal professions and driving schools to reopen from Monday.
The Danish Courts, the Family Court House and Prison Service are also included in the reopening schedule.
In addition, parliament has agreed to the partial reopening of research laboratories for researchers and students.
“No one wants to keep Denmark closed for a day more than most necessary.
“But we must not move faster than we can still keep the epidemic under control,’’ wrote Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, on Facebook on Friday.
The move is being taken “based on advice from the health authorities’’ who, together with the Danish Statens Serum Institut (SSI), the governmental public health and research institution, will present an ongoing comprehensive testing strategy, such as tests for COVID-19 on workers, relatives and vulnerable groups.
In addition, a representative sample of the population will also be tested so that any upsurge in COVID-19 infections can be tracked.
The new agreement also allows those companies that may prefer to remain closed during the lockdown to remain so and continue to receive up to 80 per cent of their fixed expenses under the emergency government aid package.
Partnerships will also be established across authorities, civil society, cultural institutions, private actors and the public sector so that concerned parties can “agree on guidelines for responsible re-openings’’ as well as support the socially disadvantaged, according to the press release.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Denmark has risen to 7,073, while the death toll is 336, according to the latest figures from the SSI on Friday. (Xinhua/NAN)