02 February,2022 09:16 AM IST | Copenhagen | Agencies
Commuters at the Noerreport metrostation in Copenhagen on Tuesday. Pic/AFP
Denmark on Tuesday became one of the first European Union countries to scrap most pandemic restrictions as the Scandinavian country no longer considers the COVID-19 outbreak "a socially critical disease."
The reason for that is that while the omicron variant is surging in Denmark, it's not placing a heavy burden on the health system and the country has a high vaccination rate, officials have said. Denmark has in recent weeks seen more than 50,000 daily cases on average while the number of people in hospital intensive care units has dropped. The head of the Danish Health Authority, Søren Brostrøm, told Danish broadcaster TV2 that his attention was on the number of people in ICUs, rather than on the number of infections. He said that number had "fallen and fallen and is incredibly low." He said 32 of the coronavirus patients are in ICUs. Several weeks ago, it was up at 80.
The most visible restriction disappearing is the wearing of face masks, which are no longer mandatory on public transportation, shops and for standing clients in restaurant indoor areas. Authorities only recommend mask use in hospitals, health care facilities and nursing homes.
Another restriction that no longer is required is the digital pass used to enter nightclubs, cafes, party buses and to be seated indoors in restaurants.
"I dare not say that it is a final goodbye to restrictions. We do not know what will happen to the fall. Whether there will be a new variant," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish radio.
26,57,167 No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours
37,32,29,380 Total no. of cases worldwide
56,58,702 Total no. of deaths worldwide
A sub-variant of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus strain is even more infectious than the original version, according to a study conducted in Denmark.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to tens of thousands of tonnes of extra medical waste, putting tremendous strain on health care waste management systems around the world, as well as threatening human and environmental health, according to a new WHO report. According to WHO, approximately 87,000 tonnes of personal protective equipment (PPE) was procured between March 2020-November 2021 and shipped to support countries' urgent response needs through a joint UN emergency initiative.
More than 8 billion doses of vaccine administered globally have produced 143 tons of extra waste in terms of syringes, needles and safety boxes.
Most of this equipment is expected to have ended up as waste, indicating the scale of the COVID-19 waste problem.
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