Coronavirus News Update – Sept. 12: Denmark Lifts Last Remaining Covid Restrictions
A member of the Danish Royal Guard, or Den Kongelige Livgarde, at Amalienborg Palace
As the country hit the 73% fully-vaccinated mark, officials in Denmark said they were lifting all remaining coronavirus restrictions, saying that the virus was no longer a “critical threat to society.”
“It is an important milestone in our epidemic management that covid-19 is no longer categorized as a socially critical disease today,” said Sundhedsminister Magnus Heunicke in a statement. “This can only be done because we have come a long way with the vaccination rollout, have strong epidemic control, and because the entire Danish population has made an enormous effort to achieve this.”
As of Sunday morning, the world has recorded 223.5 million Covid-19 cases and 4.64 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, 201.8 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus.
The average daily number of new coronavirus cases in the United States over the past 14 days is 146,790, a -6% change and a trend that is fueled by the highly contagious India, or Delta, variant. The average daily death toll over the same period is 1,666, a change of 30% over the same period.
In addition, since the start of the pandemic the United States has recorded 41.8 million cases, a higher figure than any other country and one that is followed by India, which now has over 33.2 million officially recorded cases and 442,794, although experts believe that both numbers are in reality significantly higher.
Since vaccinations started at the end of last year over 5.66 billion doses have been administered across the globe as of Sunday morning, an increase of 0.02 billion over the past 24 hours and the equivalent of 74 doses for every 100 people, a one-dose increase per hundred over the past 24 hours.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that, as of Sunday, 209 million people in the United States – or 63% – have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Of that population, 53.7%, or 178.3 million people, are now fully vaccinated, and the total number of doses that have been dispensed in the United States is now 377.5 million. Breaking this down further, 75.6% of the population over the age of 18 – or 195.1 million people – has received at least a first inoculation and 64.8% of the same group – or 167.3 million people – is fully vaccinated.
The Transportation Security Administration said Friday that, since the face mask mandate went into effect in February following President Biden’s executive order the prior month, it has sent over 4,000 warning notices and recommended fines to air travelers in a total of 126 cases. Last week, the president announced that the TSA would double the fines for travelers who refuse to don a face mask in airports or on commercial flights.
Finally, the French government announced that it had granted citizenship to some 12,000 foreign essential workers as a thank you for their service during the pandemic. “These frontline workers have served the nation,” said Marlène Schiappa, ministre déléguée auprès du ministre de l’Intérieur, chargée de la Citoyenneté, or minister delegate to the minister of the interior for citizenship matters. “It is only natural that the nation should embrace them.”
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
