Coronavirus DK: New meaning to the phrase “spitting distance”

Today shopping centers in Denmark can reopen and people can begin to participate in outdoor sports and other activities. In preparation for phase 2 of the relaxation of pandemic restrictions, the Health Authority yesterday announced an adjustment in its recommendations on hygiene. The most important change is that it will be sufficient for people to keep a distance of one meter (DK) from one another instead of two meters. In reducing the distance, it is falling in line with the guidelines from the WHO and neighboring countries. It still recommends two meters’ distance in situations such as group singing in churches, where there is a heightened risk of infection, and from people in a high-risk group, such as the elderly. The Health Authority is maintaining almost all of its previous guidelines.

Søren Bostrøm (DK), head of the agency, stresses that good hygiene, such as washing hands, using sanitizer and cleaning frequently touched surfaces, is more important than distancing. The other change mentioned in the press release is the lifting of objection to buffets, which apparently applied mainly to schools, since restaurants will not reopen until May 18. Bostrøm says the agency wants to implement sustainable solutions that balance effectiveness and convenience, and that certain measures, such as the availability of santizer in public places, will be with us for a long time. The recommendations will be adjusted gradually as various segments of society and the economy resume activities.

A “dangerous experiment”

Some doctors and researchers are in favor of the change and do not believe that it will result in many additional infections. But of course not all. Allan Randrup Thomsen, Professor of Virology at University of Copenhagen, who is one of the most frequently consulted observers of the pandemic management, calls the change “a dangerous experiment” (DK). In ordinary speech, says Randrup Thomsen, most droplets from the breath fall to the earth within one meter’s distance, but in louder speech they go further. He would maintain a distance of at least 1.5 meters. 

The difference between one and meters is not trivial when it comes to determining how many pupils can be together in a classroom and how many customers a restaurant can serve. The change will mean that additional children will be able to attend school for a full day and cafes will have a better chance of turning a profit. The issue of buffets is similar. The food served in buffets is not dangerous, says Jan Pravsgaard Christensen, Professor at the University of Copenhagen’s Institute for Immunology and Mikrobiology. What matters is that people do not crowd together in lines and follow the other recommendations on hygiene.

No carrot without a stick

As I mentioned yesterday, upon the further relaxation of restrictions, the government will also issue a formal prohibition against reopening and large gatherings for organizations that are not allowed to resume activities until phase 3 or 4. The ban, which applies to zoos, museums, fitness centers and boarding schools, was announced yesterday by Justice Minister Nick Hækkerup. If an organization with more than 50 people violates the ban, it will be subject to fines (DK) ranging from DKK 40,000 ($5,700) in the first instance to DKK 150,000 ($21,500) in the third. The police will also have the option of closing the business or organization. 

The Copenhagen Zoo and the ARoS art museum in Aarhus had mentioned the possibility of opening despite the general guidelines against it. Erlend Høyersten, the director of ARoS, called the decision “absurd and illogical” (DK). Museums do not pose a higher risk of infection than shopping centers, says Høyersten, and culture should not be assigned a lower priority than commerce in some kind of politics of symbolism. Justice Minister Hækkerup denies that there is any politics of symbolism at play and emphasizes that various institutions needed to be reopened gradually and middle schools, for example, were considered more important than museums by all the parliamentary parties.