Denmark tightens lockdown to curb COVID-19 spike

Denmark will implement further lockdown measures in parts of the country to curb a spike in coronavirus infections, the government announced on Monday.

Restaurants, museums, cinemas and other cultural institutions will have to close on Dec. 9 in 38 of 98 municipalities, including Copenhagen, and students in upper primary school, high schools and universities will be sent home.

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“We are entering a new phase of the epidemic, it is a phase where we are seeing exponential increases in the infection curves,” Health Minister Magnus Heunicke told a news conference.

In the last 24 hours, 2,026 new infections have been registered out of more than 78,000 tests and 328 people have been hospitalized. Heunicke said that number was likely to rise to 400 in the coming week.

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The new restrictions will be in place until Jan 3.

Countrywide restrictions already in place will be extended until March.

Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard; Editing by Toby Chopra and Janet Lawrence

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BY REUTERS