On April 15, an antibody test (DK) was offered to 40,000 hospital staff in Greater Copenhagen with contact to patients. The test will clarify whether the staff who previously stayed home with mild cold symptoms actually had the virus. It will also show which hospital departments are the riskiest and allow staff to take additional precautions. Later it will be offered to hospital staff in the rest of the country. The test has been used on blood donors to get an estimate of how many have been infected beyond the confirmed cases. Thus far, the level is about 2.1 percent. The measure is an indication of herd immunity that can help the authorities decide when to relax restrictions on commercial activity and gatherings. The test is a simple blood test that shows the result in 15 minutes. Although researchers believe that people with antibodies are immune to the virus, those with positive results are advised not to change their behavior and to continue to practice social distancing.
Earlier there had been problems acquiring reliable tests (DK). A large delivery of tests from China was delayed, and another test produced 23 percent false negatives.
Quest for a treatment
Researchers are preparing to begin treating Covid-19 patients with plasma (DK). Martin Tolstrup from the Institute for Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University says that they are now testing the plasma to see whether it stops the virus. The plasma is expected to be given to patients in one or two weeks, and the results will be available in a few months. Researchers around the world are working on similar projects. The method is promising because it can be implemented quickly on a large scale.
Meanwhile, researchers at two Copenhagen hospitals are conducting an experiment with an arthritis medicine (DK). They hope that the drug will prevent or reduce lung infections and thereby shorten the time that patients need treatment. That will increase the capacity of the entire healthcare system because patients who require oxygen that put pressure on hospital facilities, says Lars Erik Vølund Kristensen, head of research at the Parker Institute at Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital. The results of the experiment will not be ready for six months, and the amount of time required depends on how many patients can be recruited for the study. Ironically, Denmark’s success in holding the number of infections down has limited researchers’ ability to conduct experiments on possible treatments. But researchers and doctors in several larger countries are interested in seeing the data from the experiment.
Shortages of patients and customers
Danish hospitals have had high unused capacity (DK) during the crisis because there have been fewer infections than were first forecast when the administration ordered the lockdown on March 13. For example, four wards were prepared for Covid-19 patients at Aarhus University Hospital and only one has been used. Hospitals took fewer patients for other treatments and procedures, and staff were trained for treating Covid-19 patients. It is unfortunate that some other patients have had their treatments postponed, says Kurt Espersen, head of the South Denmark Region, but it is of course positive that the number of serious coronavirus infections is lower than had been expected. This was the right decision, maintains Espersen, because the priority was to avoid the kind of pressure on the hospital system that was occurring in Italy and Spain at that time.
When shops reopen, they are expected to hold large clearance sales. Since the lockdown began on March 13, sales of clothing have fallen (DK) 50 percent and sales of shoes have fallen a full 90 percent. Retail businesses have set discounts on goods on their webshops, but they have not made a dent in their inventory, which peaks in the spring months. They have ordered new collections that will arrive before the current ones are sold. A significant amount of their sales normally go to tourists, and there is no outlook for tourists in Denmark yet. Retailers fear that they may need to hold clearance sales for the entire summer.
The monarchy endures
Today is Queen Margrethe II's 80th birthday. The customary gathering at Amalienborg Palace Square to wave at her on the balcony has been been canceled, but she will hold a brief interview on TV. In the evening her sons and their wives will visit her, keeping a safe distance, while her grandchildren will send their greetings on social media.
It is one week into the Danish government’s first two-week closure of schools and other public institutions. Since then the closures have been expanded, in a press conference Tuesday evening, to cover virtually all businesses except for markets, pharmacies and other outlets for daily staples. That is, they are closed to consumers; restaurants may stay open only to provide takeout. Gatherings of more than ten people are banned. The borders have been closed. The government announced a plan agreed upon by the largest confederation of employers and trade unions to provide compensation for people who are laid off or not allowed to work. On Wednesday evening, Queen Margrethe also held a short speech (DK), the first by a Danish monarch on an occasion other than the tradition of New Year’s Eve in several decades. Her message, in her unfailingly correct diction, was basically, Stay the fuck home!
The official figures (DK) (as of 5:00 pm, 17 March) are now 7,584 tested, 1,057 infected, and 4 dead. Officials warn that the number infected may be much higher because most people who call their doctors and the hotline with symptoms are not automatically tested; they are first only advised to self-quarantine at home. Statens Serum Institut under the Ministry of Health reported that 176 persons had been hospitalized, that average age of those infected is 58, and two-thirds of the infected are men. The explanation for the latter figure is that several groups of men had returned from ski vacations in Austria. In the beginning, the most infections came from people returning from ski vacations in northern Italy. Yesterday, Denmark ranked seventh in infections per capita.
Lockdown intact
The large majority of people seem to be cooperating. People are encouraged to take walks but to keep their distance from others and avoid congregating in groups. Many are staying home; they are keeping children away from grandparents. There are fewer people on the streets. There are signs by the cashiers in shops reminding people to keep their distance from one another. They pass one another on the sidewalk rather warily, veering slightly away and perhaps covering their mouths. A delivery man with a package yesterday apologized for ringing my doorbell. There is certainly an advantage in being a small country with centralized public authorities and communications channels. And another advantage in being a culture with a tradition of conformism and high trust in authority. People are more likely to have confidence in government officials, to follow directions, and to behave in such a way as to maximize the public good.
Not everyone observes the guidelines, of course. The worst offenders, naturally, are the young, who may not feel as threatened personally or care so much about the risks. Some had continued to go to clubs and meet their friends on the street or in the parks. They were one of the main reasons for the latest closures and the queen’s extraordinary intervention. They must be reminded that they may be asymptomatic carriers who put others at risk. The queen’s video went viral on Instagram and elsewhere.
Here are some of the developments from the past 24 hours:
- The traditional International Workers Day gathering on 1 May in Copenhagen’s largest park was cancelled.
- The number of passengers on commuter trains has fallen by 80 percent. Fewer commuter trains are running because the staff has been reduced.
- Restaurants that previously had not offered takeout are given permission to do so without going through the normal registration process.
- The number of community infections in Denmark (308) exceeded the number of infections from a foreign country (Austria, 297) for the first time.
- Sweden, Denmark’s closest neighbor along with Germany, is the only country in the region that has not closed its borders, schools and other public institutions. The head of the Swedish state’s epidemiology agency stated that the closures may increase the spread of the virus. He was interviewed by Danmarks Radio in Swedish Health Authority’s cafeteria, which is still serving a buffet.
- The head of the Health Authority, Søren Brostrøm, says that he doubts that schools will reopen after the tentative two-week closure. Parliament is preparing a bill allowing the cancelation of final exams in schools and high schools.
- Prisons have been closed for temporary releases and visits, except for lawyers and clergypersons.
- Hospitals banned visits except for those to patients who are critically ill and children.
- Greenland had been one of the last places in the West to see an infection. A second one was identified yesterday in Nuuk, the capital, and widespread closures were put into effect.
- The government proposed a second initiative to provide compensation to people who lose income, this one aimed at the small businesses and the self-employed.
- The government is assisting in efforts to bring home Danes who are stranded abroad. There are a few thousand in Morocco, the Philippines, and a few other places. They are encouraged to return to Denmark immediately because possibilities for air travel may become limited. When they do return, they are to be quarantined for 14 days.
- The Health Authority sent new posters and brochures to shops and supermarkets. In some cases, the police have needed to enforce shop closures. Shopping malls may stay open if they have supermarkets in them, and some are using security guards to prevent young people from hanging out.
- Churches are closed for services. Baptisms, weddings and confirmations are postponed. Burials and memorial services take place in “alternative forms.”
- Denmark’s basketball league has cancelled the rest of its season.
- While most companies are reducing their staff, food delivery services are hiring.
Deity AWOL
On the lighter side, at least to me, was the tweetstorm (DK) wondering that the queen did not conclude her speech with “God preserve Denmark,” as she does every New Year’s Eve. It seemed so wrong to many, especially now, when we need much more help than when we’re going out to get drunk and see fireworks. Was it deliberate? Was it because Denmark is lost? Was it because after she’d urged everyone to pitch in it would imply that we should just rely on God’s mercy? Did she and her speechwriters simply forget? The royal family’s communications office didn’t return journalists’ inquiries.
