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COVID-19 RULES

Denmark scraps one-metre rule and space requirements for culture, sports and churches

Denmark has scrapped its one-metre distance requirement, meaning, among other things, that cinemas and churches can fill their seats and pews.

Published: 11 August 2021 18:21 CEST
Denmark scraps one-metre rule and space requirements for culture, sports and churches
Churches will no longer have to meet strict area and distancing requirements. Photo: Claus Bech/Scanpix

The Danish Health Authority said in a press statement that with over 60 percent of Danish residents now fully vaccinated, it was possible to remove the requirement, which in practice means that there needs to be an empty seat between groups in churches,  cinemas, and other institutions. 

“We have now reached a situation where we have good control of the infection in the community because so many people have accepted the offer to get vaccinated, which means we can adapt the prevention recommendations so that you can all maintain a normal everyday life while we continue to prevent infection,” Helene Bilsted Probst, the authority’s deputy director said. 

Up until now, the authority’s recommendation has been for at least one metres’ distance between people in public spaces, and two if possible.

In a statement, Denmark’s culture ministry said that the change meant the end of the area and distance requirements which had been imposed on cultural institutions, sports, and other associations. 

From August 14th, there will no longer be a requirement for there to be at least two square metres per person in any public room where spectators, visitors, or users gather, or for big events with standing audiences where spectators are separated into sections.

There will also no longer need to be at least one metre or one empty seat between each seated spectator for indoor cultural and sporting events with seated audiences. 

The church ministry, meanwhile, said that the change meant that groups would no longer need to keep a distance of two metres between one another when singing, and that area requirements on churches would be abolished.

READ ALSO: What changes about life in Denmark in August 2021

According to the authority, there are now six overriding guidelines still in place: 

  • get vaccinated
  • stay home and get tested if you experience symptoms 
  • keep your distance 
  • ventilate and create drafts
  • wash your hands or use hand sanitiser frequently 
  • clean surfaces, particularly those touched by many people

The culture ministry said that the following restrictions still applied: 

Indoor cultural and sporting events with seated audiences of over 500 spectators 

  • There must be sections, each with a maximum of 1,000 spectators
  • All must have a valid coronapas
  • Requirement for spectators to sit down in fixed seats

Outdoor cultural and sporting events with seated audiences of over 500 spectators

  • Spectators must sit down in fixed seats
  • If over 2,000 spectators, all must have valid coronapas 
  • All spectators must be registered 

Indoor cultural and sporting events with standing audiences of over 500 spectators

  • There must be sections, each with a maximum of 500 spectators
  • Maximum of 3,000 spectators in total
  • All must have a valid coronapas

Outdoor cultural and sporting events with standing audience of over 500 spectators

  • There must be sections, each with a maximum of 1,000 spectators (set to increase to 2,500 on August 15th)
  • Maximum of 5,000 spectators in total ( set to increase to 10,000 from August 15th)
  • All must have a valid coronapas
  • No one can stay overnight (IE no festival goers living in tents)

    Gyms

    • Coronapas required

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    HEALTH

    Italy’s schools warned to ‘avoid gatherings’ as Covid cases rise

    As Italy’s new school year began, masks and hand sanitiser were distributed in schools and staff were asked to prevent gatherings to help stem an increase in Covid infections.

    Published: 11 September 2023 12:48 CEST
    Italy’s schools warned to ‘avoid gatherings’ as Covid cases rise

    Pupils returned to school in many parts of Italy on Monday and authorities said they were distributing masks and hand sanitiser amid a post-summer increase in the number of recorded cases of Covid–19.

    “The advice coming from principals, teachers and janitors is to avoid gatherings of students, especially in these first days of school,” Mario Rusconi, head of Italy’s Principals’ Association, told Rai news on Monday.

    He added that local authorities in many areas were distributing masks and hand sanitizer to schools who had requested them.

    “The use of personal protective equipment is recommended for teachers and students who are vulnerable,” he said, confirming that “use is not mandatory.”

    A previous requirement for students to wear masks in the classroom was scrapped at the beginning of the last academic year.

    Walter Ricciardi, former president of the Higher Health Institute (ISS), told Italy’s La Stampa newspaper on Monday that the return to school brings the risk of increased Covid infections.

    Ricciardi described the health ministry’s current guidelines for schools as “insufficient” and said they were “based on politics rather than scientific criteria.”

    READ ALSO:

    Recorded cases of Covid have increased in most Italian regions over the past three weeks, along with rates of hospitalisation and admittance to intensive care, as much of the country returns to school and work following the summer holidays.

    Altogether, Italy recorded 21,309 new cases in the last week, an increase of 44 percent compared to the 14,863 seen the week before.

    While the World Health Organisation said in May that Covid was no longer a “global health emergency,” and doctors say currently circulating strains of the virus in Italy are not a cause for alarm, there are concerns about the impact on elderly and clinically vulnerable people with Italy’s autumn Covid booster campaign yet to begin.

    “We have new variants that we are monitoring but none seem more worrying than usual,” stated Fabrizio Maggi, director of the Virology and Biosafety Laboratories Unit of the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome

    He said “vaccination coverage and hybrid immunity can only translate into a milder disease in young and healthy people,” but added that “vaccinating the elderly and vulnerable continues to be important.”

    Updated vaccines protecting against both flu and Covid are expected to arrive in Italy at the beginning of October, and the vaccination campaign will begin at the end of October, Rai reported.

    Amid the increase in new cases, Italy’s health ministry last week issued a circular mandating Covid testing on arrival at hospital for patients with symptoms.

    Find more information about Italy’s current Covid-19 situation and vaccination campaign on the Italian health ministry’s website (available in English).

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