#ICantBreathe DK

Yesterday in Copenhagen, like hundreds of thousands of others around the world, some 15,000 people took part in a demonstration to protest the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and generally against police brutality and racism (DK). The demonstration, which was arranged by Black Lives Matter Denmark, began across the street from the US Embassy, and the attendees marched to the city center and gathered again in front of the Parliament building. 

The marchers chanted slogans such as “No justice, no peace. Prosecute the police!” But in contrast to developments in many American cities, the protest remained peaceful. It did not appear to contain radical elements from the Autonomous movement, Denmark’s equivalent of Antifa, which have committed vandalism in past demonstrations in Copenhagen. The police tweeted their thanks to the participants for not going amuck. The protest was also aimed at racism in Denmark. Its manifestations may not be as bad as in the US, said some participants, but it also exists in here. One participant spoke of being bullied and harassed and of receiving mail every week with messages such as “N****r pig, go home!”

Systemic racism in Denmark

In the Deadline interview program (DK) yesterday evening, Moussa Mchangama, the chair of Mino Danmark, an organization that promotes opportunities for ethnic minorities, noted that Denmark doesn’t have the same problem with police violence as the US but Floyd’s death has raised awareness that the racism it exemplified is a global phenomenon. Mchangama said that the wave of protests has taken off internationally and in Denmark because such incidents have occurred so many times that people cannot ignore the structural, systematic racism that exists here as well as in the United States. 

Also on the program was Vincent Hendriks (DK), Professor of Philosophy at University of Copenhagen, whose father, a black American, immigrated to Denmark in the 1960s. Hendriks observed that the demonstrations have grown very quickly after this instance of police abuse partly because people have been subjected for months to the coronavirus pandemic, which has hurt minorities and poor people more than others and which has exposed and exacerbated the inequality of wealth and income that have been growing for years.

The virus is still out there

With such a large gathering, healthcare researchers worried that the event could lead to a rise in coronavirus infections, noting that in such situations, a single infected person can pass the virus on to many others. Political events are exempt from the limit on gatherings because freedom of assembly is considered a fundamental democratic right. Today, which begin phase 3 of the reopening of the economy, the limit on gatherings was raised from ten to 50.

Officials hoped that participants would follow the healthcare guidelines and keep a distance from one another. A few of the marchers wore face masks, which have never been mandatory in Denmark. Some appeared to try to maintain one or two meters’ distance from the others, but most of them walked and stood very close to others and did not seem to worry that their chanting also increased the chances that the virus could spread. The only mitigating factor was  that the great majority of the participants were young people, who are relatively resistant to the coronavirus. 

#ICantBreathe demonstrators in central Copenhagen

Coronavirus DK: Reopening the risk of superspreading

Tomorrow, June 8, begins phase 3 of Denmark’s reopening schedule, and the government is recommending that indoor sports and exercise facilities can resume activities (DK). Fitness centers, swimming halls, children’s indoor play areas, and the like have been closed since mid-March. Earlier, this step had been scheduled as part of phase 4, which would begin in August. But since the spread of COVID-19 infections has been low for some time, the government has decided to accelerate the timetable. 

The other political parties agree with the move. “Sports and clubs are bleeding, so it is fortunate that we have reached this stage,” said Orla Østerby, the sports spokesperson for the Conservative Party. “It is good for all age groups that they can move around again.” The various organizations must prepare guidelines for their facilities based on the Health Authority’s general recommendations. The step comes at the same time that the limit on gatherings is being increased from ten to 50 persons.

Health Authority abstains

Concerning the proposal, SSI, the agency responsible for preparedness against infectious diseases, has stated that it is “impossible to make quantitative model calculations (DK) for indoor sports,” partly because there are large variations among different types of sports: for example, the degree of physical contact, the intensity, and the opportunity to clean equipment. Officials from the Sports Federation of Denmark have been impatient to reopen facilities. Morten Mølholm Hansen, the director of the organization says that studies show that the closing of the facilities has had serious consequences for the population: 40 percent of the people who were active in sports have stopped during the coronavirus crisis.

Researchers are doubtful

But some experts are warning (DK) that not everyone should rush back into crowded fitness clubs. Maybe it is better to “wait until the virus is hopefully completely gone before you join a zumba or spinning class if you are elderly or in a high-risk group,” says Thea Kølsen Fischer, head of research at North Zealand Hospital. The problem is that when your pulse speeds up, you breathe deeply, and the infection can easily spread in group activities. Other researchers agree. “It’s hard for me to see how you can make an infection-free fitness center,” says Christian Wejse of Aarhus University Hospital, adding the reopening offers especially good conditions for superspreaders.

Potential antiracist superspreading

Health researchers are also warning about another activity that will take place today, a demonstration against police brutality (DK) in the US occasioned by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Some 8,000 people on Facebook have indicated interest in attending the event, which has been organized by Black Lives Matter and will begin at the American Embassy in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen. 

With a large number of people close together, chanting or yelling, “It is actually a type of activity that we should avoid completely in order to prevent another outbreak of the epidemic,” says Allan Randrup Thomsen, Professor of Virology at University of Copenhagen. But according to Danish law, political events are exempt from the ban on large gatherings, so the police cannot stop or break up a group of demonstrators unless the event becomes violent. Similar demonstrations against racism in the US took place earlier in the week. Some 2,500 people gathered in Aarhus on Wednesday, including the mayor, and demonstrations have also been held in smaller cities around the country.

Coronavirus DK: Pop the champagne, play ball, and defend Greenland

Maybe Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was reading the same opinion column (DK) as I was yesterday about relaxing the restriction on freedom of assembly because the government has proposed increasing the number of people allowed at a gathering from ten to 50 on Monday. It sent a letter to the other party leaders as a preparation for negotiations on the measure this weekend. The proposal entails a plan to raise the limit on gatherings (DK) in three phases: to 50 on June 8, to 100 on July 8, and to 200 on August 8, with certain exceptions and qualifications. The government has been under increasing pressure to lift the ban recently as the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths continue to decline during the reopening of the economy.

Stay in your seats

The most important exception to the limitations concerns the first phase. The government will allow up to 500 persons to attend an event if the participants are sitting down, for example at a soccer match in a stadium, at a wedding reception in a restaurant, and at an annual general meeting in a conference center, as well as for summer activities for children. The increase to 200 in August will be allowed only for events that are arranged in accordance with “sector partnership guidelines.” The proposal also contains an extension of the limit on space for individuals in private businesses – that is, of one person per 2 square meters – to apply to all locations where attendees are sitting down. The parties had agreed on a general intention to ease the limit on gatherings at earlier negotiations in May. 

The proposal does not cover indoor sports, fitness centers and swimming halls. Negotiations on those activities, which are subject to one of the last remaining prohibitions, are also supposed to be completed by Monday.

Grudging acknowledgment

The other parties were pleased with the news. “It’s about time that the government made this announcement,” said Kristian Thulesen Dahl of the Danish People’s Party, which has wanted people to be able to hold receptions and large parties, which will also help restaurants recover some of their usual revenues. Sophie Løhde from the Liberal Party wished the announcement had come earlier because uncertainty about the prohibition might have caused some people to cancel their wedding plans. She also wants soccer clubs to receive compensation if they normally attract more than 500 spectators. The government’s supporting parties also think the proposal is sensible, adding that they depend on the continued observance of hygienic recommendations as well as contact tracing and isolation of infection cases.

Not him again

If this weren’t enough good news for Constitution Day, Denmark, via the person of Queen Margrethe, received congratulations from an unexpected quarter (DK), none other than the national leader whose reputation has sunk to the most horrendous depths this week. Trump’s people took the time to make this gesture on a day when the president was busy saying that this was "a great day for [George Floyd]" because the unemployment rate fell for the first time since the pandemic hit. The message also mentions the reopening of the US Consulate in Greenland, a reminder of the country’s security interest in the region and Trump’s offer to buy the autonomous territory last year, which was rejected as “absurd” by PM Frederiksen. 

Commentator Troels Mylenberg notes that especially on Constitution Day such congratulations should have been directed toward the democratically elected Parliament rather than a monarchic figurehead and that they wouldn’t have come at all if Trump wasn’t still interested in expanding US activities in Greenland. The message appears on the US Embassy’s website beside an alert about demonstrations against police brutality and racism that will be held in front of the Embassy this weekend. 

Coronavirus DK: Happy Constitution Day, let's party!

Today is Constitution Day in Denmark, the country’s equivalent of the Fourth of July. It is also exactly one year since the latest Danish elections, which brought the Social Democrats to power with Mette Frederiksen as Prime Minister. The party received 26 percent of the vote, not a strong showing, but the right wing was divided and lost votes to the other left-wing parties. The Social Democrats were criticized by traditional left-wing voters particularly for moving to the right on immigration in an attempt to take voters from the nationalistic Danish People’s Party. 

When the coronavirus hit, Frederiksen appealed to the population with the traditional social democratic values of a strong welfare state, especially the healthcare sector, and solidarity across classes in the common cause of containing the epidemic. She was considered almost authoritarian in her adherence to the precautionary principle during the lockdown phase, but her popularity soared. Although the government’s policy was criticized by the right-wing parties and the private sector for being too hard on the economy, Frederiksen won admiration even from former critics for her consistency and ability to communicate effectively to the citizenry. 

Triumph of the welfare state

The Social Democrats are now polling at 34 percent (DK) of the electorate, a level they haven’t seen for decades. National leaders almost always see a boost in popularity during a crisis, but Frederiksen has maintained her support even after segments of the population began to express impatience with the gradual reopening of the economy and disclosures of the government’s rejection of the Health Authority’s recommendation came to light. According to political commentator Erik Holstein, “The Social Democratic Party has succeeded in creating a story that the solution to the coronavirus crisis is the social democratic welfare state.” Holstein expects the polling number to decline somewhat but thinks there is a good possibility that the party can retain some of its new adherents and regain its clear position as the country’s largest party.

Celebrating Constitution Day on Zoom

Denmark has seen some protests against the lockdown that claim that the threat of the coronavirus has been vastly exaggerated and the government is using the crisis as a pretext to implement authoritarian controls on the population. But such charges bordering on conspiracy theory have never gained a substantial following. On the occasion of Constitution Day, however, the issue is being raised in another quarter, the Institute for Human Rights (DK). Louise Holck, the head of the organization, notes that this year Constitution Day must be observed in a different way than usual because our freedom of assembly is being limited. 

Holck asks how long Danish citizens’ rights should be restricted as drastically as they have been during the crisis. The right to assembly is one of the fundamental rights in a democratic society, and it is closely related to the essential right to expression. It is in gatherings that citizens express and exchange ideas. The Constitution says that citizens “have a right to gather unarmed without advance permission.” It says nothing about restrictions on peaceful gatherings, but the prevailing interpretation is that such restrictions should be “necessary and proportional.”

Speed up the reopening

Holck does not deny that the limitation on gatherings was necessary when the lockdown was announced on March 13 and while the epidemic continued to pose a clear threat to the population. Her position is similar to that of conservative party leaders, who questioned only the extent and duration of lockdown. But now, as the number of patients hospitalized has fallen below 100 and the economy is reopening, the restriction no longer seems "proportional": “It is harder and harder to see the justification for maintaining a ban on gatherings as small as 11 persons.”

The government has said that it will consider raising the limit on gatherings this month.