Denmark proposes closing public venues amid omicron surge

Denmark’s prime minister announced on Friday that the government is proposing new restrictions, including closing the country’s concert halls, theaters and cinemas, amid a record-breaking surge in daily COVID-19 cases.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said during a press briefing that infections have been accelerated by the omicron variant and that the country had recorded more than 11,000 cases within the past 24 hours, The Local Denmark reported.

“It’s necessary to have new restrictions that limit activity in the community and reduce transmissions,” Frederiksen reportedly said.

Under the new restrictions, which still require confirmation from the Danish parliament’s Epidemics Committee, amusement parks would be closed, bars would be required to close early and stop serving alcohol at 10 p.m., stores and places of worship would reimplement capacity limits and all businesses and locations with public access would be mandated to put mask requirements in place, according to The Local Denmark.

Frederiksen added that the country would not be implementing lockdowns or limiting gatherings due to the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines, the news outlet reported.

The Epidemics Committee is set to meet on Friday to determine whether to confirm the new restrictions, according to The Local Denmark.