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Rats cause closure of Copenhagen harbour swimming area

Ritzau/The Local
Ritzau/The Local - [email protected]
Rats cause closure of Copenhagen harbour swimming area
A 2013 file photo of the harbour baths at Sluseholmen, Copenhagen. Photo: Jeppe Bjørn Vejlø/Ritzau Scanpix

Copenhageners looking to cool down from the hot summer days by taking a dip in the harbour will have to avoid the swimming facilities at Sluseholmen.

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Public health authorities have closed the Sluseholmen Harbour Bath in the Sydhavnen area in the south of the city due to a rat infestation.

The decision was taken by Copenhagen Municipality’s Environmental Protection Centre (Center for Miljøbeskyttelse) and Pest Control Unit (Skadedyrsenheden).

Havnebadet Sluseholmen confirmed the closure via its Facebook page on Tuesday evening. No expected date for reopening was given.

Rats in the area are considered to be potential carriers of infectious diseases, according to the Facebook post made by the harbour pool.

People in Copenhagen are instead advised to use the nearby outside swimming pool at Bavnehøj or the harbour swimming area at Fisketorvet in Vesterbro.

Swimming in Copenhagen's harbour is only permitted within the harbour baths and established bathing zones.

A similar harbour swimming facility in Aalborg was also closed last week after evidence of a rat infestation was found in a staircase at the pool.

Aalborg’s municipality has called in pest control and is in dialogue with the Danish Patient Safety Authority, which recommended the closure of the harbour pool due to public health considerations.

The Aalborg pool will not be reopened until all the rats have been killed, according to reports.

“We have already captured eight baby rats, and more will probably be captured yet,” Tina Dalsgaard of Aalborg Municipality’s Environment and Energy Board told local media Aalborg:nu on Monday.

READ ALSO: Aalborg bans bathing at harbour pool after rat discovery

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