As Denmark lifted the last of its compulsory face-covering regulations, the Nordic country will no longer have to wear masks, the government said on Friday, August 13.
The Danish Health Authority has decided that the rule for wearing masks will be lifted. “The requirement was scheduled to be lifted on September 1, but the move has been brought forward as a consequence of the Danish Health Authority’s decision to lift the recommendation to keep a one-metre distance in public spaces,” the ministry said in a statement.
“We are now in a situation… where a large part of the population has been vaccinated, and we are returning to a more normal everyday life,” transport minister Benny Engelbrecht was quoted as saying in a statement.
“We can say goodbye to masks on buses, trains and the metro,” he added.
Initially, the change was scheduled for September 1.
Last week, health authorities in the Scandinavian kingdom, which is home to 5.8 million people, were also loosened social-distancing regulations. The country has seen about 1,000 new infections a day.
Now, more than 60 per cent of the country’s population has been fully vaccinated.
“We now have good control of the infection across society,” Helene Bilsted Probst, deputy director of the national health agency, said in a statement.
“Therefore, we can adapt the prevention recommendations in such a way that people can maintain a normal daily life while respecting the principle of prevention,” Helene added.
“We have had the requirement for a face mask when entering and leaving public transport because it can be difficult to keep your distance. But when the distance requirement is no longer there, we have chosen to abolish it now,” Benny Engelbrecht, Denmark’s transport minister, was quoted as saying.
“I am full of admiration for all the transport companies, employees and citizens who, throughout the corona crisis, have kept their distance and used face masks so that public transport has worked,” Engelbrecht said, adding, “I have no doubt that it has helped keep the number of infections down and ultimately save lives. Now we are in a completely different place, where a large part of the population has been vaccinated, and we are returning to a more normal everyday life.”
However, masks will have to be mandatorily worn in the country’s airports and on planes, where international air-transport rules are applicable.
