Saturday afternoon Danmarks Radio brought an article (DK) based on interviews with two researchers who believe the emergency measures implemented in Denmark are working and limiting the spread of the coronavirus. Anders Koch from Statens Serum Institut and Lone Simonsen from Roskilde University both see the figures on the number of infections and deaths rising steadily but not accelerating. They believe that the social distancing and other measures that the government has ordered have had a positive effect. They are cautious in expecting that Denmark will not see the same explosion of cases that has occurred in southern Europe and do not think that the hospitals in Denmark will be overwhelmed. While they caution that Denmark is still in an early stage of the epidemic, they think it is possible that the country could begin to loosen up the restrictions after the end of the current lockdown period, which runs until April 13.
In a Facebook post (DK), Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen wrote that she does not expect the country to be closed for months. She said the data on the effect of the lockdown may be significant within a few days and the country may be able to begin to open up soon. She warned that some countries have seen a relapse after they had thought they had made progress, and she urged people to remain patient.
Coping with idleness
In other developments, since the lockdown the number of referrals on the Health Ministry’s Alcohol Line website (DK) has run at an order of magnitude higher than usual. The Alcohol Line offers free counseling for people who are worried about their drinking, and its website offers an online self-test. Ten times as many people than the normal level have taken the test since the bars and restaurants closed. A few factors may be contributing to the rise, say the counseling staff. People usually drink more when they are off work, and many have been sent home from work. Most of the opportunities for face-to-face therapy and counseling are closed. There is anxiety about the epidemic and economic prospects and stress from being cooped up with children who cannot go to school or day-care centers. People still have the option of counseling by telephone or videoconferencing.
On a related subject, the police note that the border closing affects the drug and narcotics trade (DK). If it’s harder for smugglers to get their products into the country, prices will rise and quality will fall, causing problems for users and presumably increasing crime. Much of the cannabis trade in Copenhagen has taken place in Christiania, the semi-autonomous “Freetown” where squatters settled in old military barracks in the 1970s. It was closed to tourists and nonresidents in the general lockdown, and some dealers have migrated to nearby side streets, even setting up temporary booths of the kind found on Christiania’s famous Pusher Street. Cannabis is still illegal in Denmark except for a trial medical marijuana program.
Survival strategies
Another aspect of life under quarantine: shaming for noncompliance (DK). While people are asked to keep to themselves except for shopping for necessities, they are also advised to take a walk and get some sun. If too many choose the same park, the need to pass by one another can bring them in close proximity and they may find themselves upbraided with a “Keep your distance!” Researchers note that there are good evolutionary reasons for such “hypermoralizing” and it is effective, especially if it comes from someone in a higher risk group, such as an elderly person. People will tend to conform to the majority attitude in order to avoid shaming if not to follow the prescribed behavior for health reasons alone.
Early Sunday morning, police stopped a car in Aarhus, Denmark’s second-largest city. A passenger got out, yelled “Corona!”, and coughed (DK) in the faces of two officers. He was arrested for that. After his appearance in court, he escaped from custody and is now the object of a “massive” search by the already overburdened police force.
A DIY world
Keen observers noted that Søren Bostrøm, the Director General of the Danish Health Authority, who has appeared in press conferences lately, got a haircut. How could that be, when barbershops and salons are supposed to be closed? He tweeted (DK) that he did it himself with a clipper, that’s why it’s uneven on the neck, adding that he sent the usual payment to his barber and closing with hashtag #støtdinfrisør (supportyourhairdresser). This seems to have bolstered his rockstar status on the crisis management team.
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