Coronavirus in Denmark: Bending the curve

There have not been any dramatic developments in the epidemic in Denmark in the past few days, certainly nothing like the crises in Italy, Spain and New York. 

For three or four days, the number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Denmark have been leveling off (DK) and have even begun to decline slightly. There have been instances of outbreaks with multiple infections (DK) at nursing homes and homes for people with developmental disabilities, but the curve is indeed flattening. In his latest press conference (DK), Søren Bostrøm, the Director General of the Danish Health Authority, called the situation reassuring but still serious. He stressed that the positive trend was the result of people adhering to the restrictions and that it was necessary to continue them if the country is to begin resuming normal activities after Easter.

Officials for organizations of healthcare personnel are concerned about not having sufficient supplies of PPE (DK) and being overly exposed to patients. The Danish Regions, which operate hospitals, and other authorities say they are working to improve the situation. Private companies are now producing equipment, and in another initiative, all patients who visit doctors are now to wear masks.

Data collection from Techværnet

A group of Danish IT startup founders, developers, programmers and others is creating a self-reporting tool to track the spread of coronavirus symptoms in the population beyond the official figures for infections. The organization is called Techværnet (The Tech Protection), and it consists of volunteers led by Martin Permin, CEO of Pelion. The tool is intended to give healthcare authorities better knowledge of the extent of the epidemic so that they can anticipate the demands on hospitals. A brief questionnaire will be sent to participants in a text message every day. Everyone, including people who are healthy, is encouraged to register on the website https://c19.dk/. Data are not being collected yet, but the Danish Ministry of Health has expressed interest in using the reporting tool. It can be used in other countries as well, and a few have already shown an interest. The code is open source, and it can be found on GitHub. More than 28,000 people have registered so far. 

Danish Lutheran churches (DK) are supposed to be suspending services, but some people still want to hold them on Easter. Although the bishops are in favor of finding solutions other than physical services, such as videoconferencing, the Danish People’s Party’s spokesperson for church affairs, Marie Krarup, believes that is not sufficient, especially at this time when people are anxious. The Liberal Party has suggested holding outdoor services. The debate continues.

Who’s right?

Health authorities in Denmark disagree with the WHO (DK) about some of its recommendations. This has caused some confusion, but it is not clear that the differences have great practical consequences at the moment. The WHO has wanted to test as many as possible. Denmark first tested only those with moderate or severe symptoms. Earlier there was some uncertainty about whether the WHO’s position applied to all countries or only those that had not tested extensively by mid-March. The Danish Health Authority now plans to increase the number tested daily after Easter. The WHO recommends total isolation for infected patients. In Denmark, some patients have been advised to self-quarantine at home. The WHO advises against a strategy of herd immunity because too many will be sick and will put pressure on hospitals. The director of Statens Serum Institute says that it will be necessary to achieve herd immunity, with up to 60 percent of the population gradually infected and afterwards immune.