Coronavirus DK: Opening for travel in Europe

The government has changed its policy on foreign travel. “I understand very well that there are Danes who in the months we have been through have a desire for a clarification regarding incoming and outgoing travel,” said Jeppe Kofod, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who presented the new plan along with Minister of Justice Nick Hækkerup.

Objective criteria

Beginning on June 27, the government will allow travel between Denmark and EU countries (DK), the Schengen Area and the UK on the basis of objective criteria. The most important measure is the infection rate in a country. Other criteria concerning the number of tests will be determined later. The limit is 20 infections per 100,000 inhabitants per week. Countries with fewer infections than that will be designated as “Open.” Countries with 20 to 30 infections per 100,000 will be designated as a “Quarantine Country, ”and those with more than 30 infections will be closed.

SSI, the agency for preparedness against infectious diseases, will update the list every week, and if the infection rate rises in a country, its status can be altered. Currently, all European countries except Portugal and Sweden qualify for Open status. Foreign tourists entering will still need to book a reservation for at least six days, except for people who live in border regions such as Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Tourists from a Quarantine Country must present negative coronavirus test results from within the preceding 72 hours.

Regional exceptions

Special conditions apply to Nordic countries. If a region has an infection rate below the limit, travel will be permitted. This is especially pertinent for the the Skåne region in southern Sweden. Swedish officials have been complaining that its citizens were not given access to Denmark like its other neighboring countries, Germany and Norway. Unnecessary travel outside of Europe is still strongly discouraged, and there are no plans to change that advisory.

Laissez-faire Sweden is the outlier

The list of registered cases is based on data from Johns Hopkins University. For the week ending June 17, it shows that Sweden had 75 cases per 100,000, Portugal had 20.2, the UK had 13.7, and all others had fewer than 10. The level in Denmark was 4.8, which was slightly higher than that of France and Italy and slightly lower than in Spain.

Opposition and tourism industry still dissatisfied

Several other parliamentary parties have been pressuring the government (DK) to relax the travel restrictions. “This is a step in the right direction,” said Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, chairperson of the Liberal Party. But these parties are still unhappy that travel outside of Europe is not permitted. Recently the SAS and Norwegian airlines announced that they would reopen a number of international routes on July 1. The parties also find the six-day reservation requirement arbitrary. “It is completely destroying the hotel industry,” said Søren Pape Poulsen, the chairperson of the Conservative Party.

If we let everyone in, answered Hækkerup, “we would risk importing infection chains and be forced to roll back the reopening.”