Euro 2020: Denmark to lift mask rules, raise crowd size for matches-Sports News , Firstpost

Representational image. AFP

Copenhagen: Denmark on Thursday announced the easing of several COVID-19 measures, regarding the use of face masks, bar and restaurant opening hours, and crowd sizes at Euro matches as they prepare to lift all restrictions by 1 October.

The Scandinavian country also plans to phase out its “corona pass” required for some activities by the same date.

“We will be able to do everything that we have missed, because we now have the epidemic under control,” Health Minister Magnus Heunicke told reporters.

Masks will no longer be required as of 14 June, except on public transport during rush hour and for standing passengers. That requirement will subsequently be lifted on 1 September.

Bars and restaurants will be allowed to stay open until midnight as of June 11, compared to 11pm currently. As of July 15, they will be allowed to remain open until 2am.

Nightclubs will be authorised to reopen on September 1, but visitors will need to show a “corona pass” to enter until 1 October.

The document, which certifies that the bearer has either tested negative for the virus or is immune, will be phased out entirely by 1 October.

Museums, cinemas and theatres will no longer require it as of August 1, and bars and restaurants as of 1 September.

Up to 10,000 people will be allowed at public events of 14 June.

Exceptionally, the four Euro 2020 matches to be played in Copenhagen will be able to welcome 25,000 spectators, up from the 16,000 that had been planned until now.

However, given the short notice, Denmark’s football association said the increase will not apply to the first match on Saturday, when Denmark meets Finland.

Relatively spared from the pandemic, Denmark currently has just 122 COVID-19 patients in hospital, the lowest number since October.

Among the country’s 5.8 million inhabitants, 24.2 percent are fully vaccinated and 42.7 have received the first dose.