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HEALTH

Coronapas: Denmark’s Covid-19 health pass is no more after two years

The Coronapas, the Covid-19 health pass used in Denmark to document vaccination, test or infection history status during the pandemic, will be fully deactivated over two years since its introduction.

Published: 29 June 2023 16:44 CEST
Coronapas: Denmark’s Covid-19 health pass is no more after two years
The coronapas joins queues at testing centres as a memory of the pandemic in Denmark. Photo: Minsundhed

The Coronapas will be shut down at the end of June and can no longer be used to view vaccination history, health authorities said in a statement.

That is because Covid-19 travel certificates expire in the EU on June 30th and EU rules have not been extended to provide legal basis for an EU Covid travel pass.

The health pass was last year deactivated for use in Denmark after all Danish Covid restrictions ended, but was retained for EU travel and certification purposes.

The word “coronapas” entered the Danish dictionary after the digital certificate was introduced in May 2021 and was voted word of the year in 2021, but is now defunct.

While the EU Covid health pass provisions are about to end, the World Health Organization’s European office warned on Tuesday the risk of Covid-19 has not gone away, saying it was still responsible for nearly 1,000 deaths a week in the region.

The global health body announced on May 5th that the Covid-19 pandemic was no longer deemed a “global health emergency”, however.

READ ALSO: Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The digital health certificate no longer exists on the Coronapas app or in the MinSundhed app, which is an extension of the sundhed.dk health platform.

But a record of all vaccinations and the vaccinations of your children can still be accessed through Sundhed.dk, the health portal said.

A coronapas was displayed some 31.6 million times on the MinSundhed app alone between October 2021 and the end of 2022, according to the statement.

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HEALTH

Denmark to spend 334 million kroner on paths to boost ‘declining’ cycling

A total of 69 local and national bicycle lane projects are to receive 334 million kroner in funding in 2024.

Published: 26 June 2024 12:40 CEST
Denmark to spend 334 million kroner on paths to boost ‘declining’ cycling

The money, which will see Denmark’s already extensive network of bike lanes continue to grow, comes from a 2021 transport agreement setting aside money for bicycle infrastructure, the Ministry of Transport said in a statement.

Some 64 different municipalities are receiving funding including 28 projects for school bike access.

Under the terms of the agreement, local authorities can get 40 percent of the cost of new bicycle lanes covered by the state fund.

The five new national bicycle lanes – which are fully state-funded – will be built in locations including the Hedensted, Næstved, Norddjurs and Kalundborg municipalities, which are split between Zealand and Jutland.

Distribution of the funding must be rubber-stamped by parliament’s Transport Committee, a process which will be scheduled for after parliament’s summer holiday, the ministry noted in the statement.

“It’s great that we are now expanding the bicycle lane network but cycling is unfortunately declining despite a political desire for the opposite,” the director of the Transport section with the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI), Karsten Lauritzen, said in a statement.

“The forthcoming investments in bicycle lanes which are part of the 2035 infrastructure plan should therefore be brought forward,” he said.

The Transport Minister, Thomas Danielsen said he agreed with the assessment that fewer people are using their bicycles and said a national strategy was on the way to tackle the issue.

“When I became transport minister I was gladly given responsibility for a three-billion-krone spending plan for cycling. I did that but at the same time, we don’t have a clear idea of how to get the most cycling and therefore most for this money,” Danielsen said.

“So this cycling strategy should take the form of a resource to help us decision-makers spend the money as wisely as possible,” he added.

The strategy should be prepared by late 2025, he added.

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