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Denmark plans to end all domestic Covid restrictions and no longer categorise coronavirus as a “socially critical disease".
Danes are coming out of an Omicron-initiated lockdown that was partially lifted two weeks ago and which is now scheduled to be fully lifted on February 1.
The “rules will lapse when the illness will no longer be categorised as ‘socially critical’, on 1 February 2022”, Health Minister Magnus Heunicke wrote in a letter to parliament.
Mr Heunicke said the government intends to follow recommendations issued by an expert panel on Tuesday to scrap all restrictions by February 1.
The government's decision is subject to parliamentary approval.
Assuming the changes are approved, the only rules that will remain are those covering test and isolation on entry to Denmark, which will stay in place for another four weeks.
Nightclubs can reopen, restaurants will be able to serve alcohol after 10pm and customers will not need to present vaccine passes upon entry.
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People wearing face masks are silhouetted against a public awareness notice about social distancing in the Japanese capital Tokyo. AP -
People queue next to a poster of Bing Dwen Dwen, the mascot of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, to have their swab samples taken to test for the Covid-19 coronavirus in Beijing, China. AFP -
A bench taped off to enforce social distancing measures at a subway station in Seoul, South Korea. AP -
A protester dressed as the Grim Reaper participates in an anti-vaccine rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, US. AP -
A demonstrator is sprayed by a water cannon as 50,000 people protested against anti-coronavirus measures in EU countries at the bloc's administrative centre in Brussels, Belgium. Bloomberg -
A teacher welcomes a student upon her arrival at a school in Mumbai, after it reopened as Covid-19 measures were eased. AFP -
Protesters march alongside the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool before an anti-vaccine rally in Washington, US. AP -
A Palestinian Health Ministry medic takes a swab sample from a child to test for the coronavirus in the village of Dura, west of Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. AFP -
Residents queue for PCR tests at a housing estate in Hong Kong as the territory battles a wave of Covid-19 cases. AP -
Protesters in Ansbach, Germany, march with a banner with the inscription 'Fresse Freiheit. Mask off! Take a breath! Tell the truth!' AP -
Anti-vaccine protesters with a placard in the UK's capital, London. AP
Commuters can take public transport without having to wear a face mask and shops can lift limits on customer numbers.
Denmark recorded 46,590 new cases on Tuesday, slightly below a peak of 47,831 on Friday. The number of coronavirus-related hospital admissions rose to 918, the highest in a year.
But health authorities have estimated that between 30 per cent and 40 per cent of those in hospital with a positive coronavirus test are there for other reasons.
“There has been a decoupling between the trend that was applicable earlier in the epidemic, between increasing infection and increase in Covid hospitalisations,” the expert advisory panel said.
Since a peak of 82 on January 6, the number of Covid patients in intensive care has fallen steadily to 44 on Tuesday.
The UK, Ireland and the Netherlands have all in the past week announced similar decisions to remove most coronavirus restrictions despite Omicron infection numbers staying high.
