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.
Danes are not following the authorities’ recommendations (DK) on hygiene and social distancing as strictly as they were before, according to a new study. A research project called “HOPE – How Democracies Cope with Covid-19” has found that as the number of infections and deaths decline and society begins to reopen, Danes are easing up on the practices that led to an improvement of the situation. Michael Bang Petersen, Professor at the Institute for Political Science at Aarhus University, says the tendency has been consistent and is cause for concern. Most people continue to comply with the guidelines, but it becomes harder to do so over time. People get a sense of security because the infection figures are falling and they are tired of following a strict regime, says Petersen.
The survey covered three parameters: hand hygiene – whether people washed their hands several times a day; social distancing – whether they avoid gatherings of more than 10 people; and whether they had changed their behavior generally during the lockdown. The figures for all three parameters show that people’s compliance with the recommendations peaked around March 23-25 and has been declining steadily since. The problem with using such information in an epidemic, says Petersen, is that the effects of changed behavior may not show up in symptoms until 14 days later, when it is too late to avoid infection. He urges people to maintain their discipline, especially now, when businesses are reopening and people are coming into closer contact, because not doing so could lead to a second wave of infections. In that case, the country would lose the progress it has made.
Debating the criteria for reopening
A child psychologist has criticized the conditions (DK) in which the youngest children are returning to day-care centers and has advised parents to keep them home. In an interview on Sunday, Margrethe Brun Hansen argued that children under the age of three should be introduced to nurseries gradually, with their parents in the room until they feel secure. Minister for Children and Education Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil said that she could understand why some parents might be concerned, but she has a young child herself and is not worried. She said that we have well-educated employees who evaluate the children when they arrive. The key factor for her was that the staff comply with the Health Authorities’ guidelines before they open a day-care center.
The Sports Confederation of Denmark has announced that it has received new guidelines from the Health Authority and it is removing its ban on activities for sports (DK) that take place outdoors without physical contact. This applies to sports that involve only small groups and that can be conducted according to the general guidelines for the pandemic. For example, people must dress and shower at home and not share equipment. The Health Authority’s ban on sports had applied specifically to indoor sports, but the Sports Confederation itself extended it to cover outdoor sports as well as a precautionary measure. The sports that can reopen include golf, tennis and kayaking, in which few people participate together. Team sports such as soccer that involve physical contact, are still not allowed.
Sex is good
Another physical activity that usually involves few people has also gotten a green light. At a press conference on Monday, Søren Brostrøm, the head of the Danish Health Authority, assured people that there is no ban on sex (DK): “Sex is good. Sex is healthy. We are sexual creatures.” Singles can also have sex, he continued, referring people to the practical guidelines on safe sex on the Health Authority’s web site. The website indeed has an enormous amount of information on all aspects of behavior and social relations during the epidemic. On its FAQ page (DK), it says that the corona virus is not transmitted by semen and blood and that you should protect yourself by “washing your hands (and any sex toys) with soap and water before and after sex and masturbation.” The advisability of wearing masks for singles who are dating is not addressed.
