Denmark Living Like It's February 2020 Again

It's back to life like it was in February 2020 in Denmark. The country has done away with nearly all restrictions related to COVID-19, which it says isn't a "socially critical sickness" anymore. It's the first EU country to do so, and it means mask requirements are gone, a "COVID pass" isn't required to get into restaurants, and citizens are no longer required to self-isolate after a positive test. "No one can know what will happen next December. But we promised the citizens of Denmark that we will only have restrictions if they are truly necessary and we'll lift them as soon as we can," the country's health minister tells CNN.

The network points out that Denmark's new-infection rate is sky-high—No. 2 in the world right now at about 7,500 cases per million people—but the director-general of Denmark's Health Authority says the meager hospitalization numbers support the move. "At the same time as infections are skyrocketing, patients admitted to intensive care actually going down," said Søren Brostrøm. "It's around 30 people in ICU beds right now with a COVID-19 diagnosis, out of a population of 6 million." The BBC reports just over 80% of those over age 5 are fully vaccinated in Denmark, and 60% have received a booster. There are some nominal exceptions to the no-restrictions approach: Face masks are to be worn in hospitals, for instance. (More Denmark stories.)