Denmark to open border with Sweden – but only for certain regions
Denmark on Thursday announced that it would open its borders to people from Sweden this month – as long as they were travelling from certain regions.
From June 27th, when the new system comes into effect in Denmark, travellers will be allowed in from Swedish regions with a low infection rate. Currently, that could include Skåne, Sörmland and Västerbotten, according to Danish newspaper Ritzau.
There will also be special criteria for so-called 'border regions' of Skåne, Halland and Blekinge.
It's part of a new system under which Denmark's infectious diseases agency SSI will rank each country in the EU, UK and Schengen area as either "open", "quarantine", or "closed", basing its appraisal chiefly on how many coronavirus infections have been registered in the preceding week.
If a country has registered fewer than 20 coronavirus infections per 100,000 people over the preceding week, it is ranked "open", if it has registered fewer than 30 cases, it is ranked a "quarantine" country, and if it has registered above 30, it is ranked "closed".
However, if a country in the Nordic region does not fulfil the criteria to be 'open', the a special "Nordic mechanism" kicks in, allowing the infection rate to be looked at on a regional basis.
So even though Sweden is currently not an "open" country, travellers can still enter if they come from low-infection regions.
Based on current data, this means that residents of Skåne, Sörmland and Västerbotten in Sweden will be allowed to enter Denmark. A list of exactly which restrictions apply to different countries and regions will be released on June 25th, two days before the changes come into effect.
Tourists coming to Denmark from the EU, Schengen countries and the UK, will need to show that they have booked accommodation for at least six nights.
But this requirement will not apply to residents of 'border regions' of Schleswig-Holstein, Skåne, Halland and Blekinge.
And even if one of these border regions is rated as "quarantined", residents will still be able to enter Denmark if they can show that they have tested negative for coronavirus 72 hours before entry.
Comments
See Also
From June 27th, when the new system comes into effect in Denmark, travellers will be allowed in from Swedish regions with a low infection rate. Currently, that could include Skåne, Sörmland and Västerbotten, according to Danish newspaper Ritzau.
There will also be special criteria for so-called 'border regions' of Skåne, Halland and Blekinge.
It's part of a new system under which Denmark's infectious diseases agency SSI will rank each country in the EU, UK and Schengen area as either "open", "quarantine", or "closed", basing its appraisal chiefly on how many coronavirus infections have been registered in the preceding week.
If a country has registered fewer than 20 coronavirus infections per 100,000 people over the preceding week, it is ranked "open", if it has registered fewer than 30 cases, it is ranked a "quarantine" country, and if it has registered above 30, it is ranked "closed".
However, if a country in the Nordic region does not fulfil the criteria to be 'open', the a special "Nordic mechanism" kicks in, allowing the infection rate to be looked at on a regional basis.
So even though Sweden is currently not an "open" country, travellers can still enter if they come from low-infection regions.
Based on current data, this means that residents of Skåne, Sörmland and Västerbotten in Sweden will be allowed to enter Denmark. A list of exactly which restrictions apply to different countries and regions will be released on June 25th, two days before the changes come into effect.
Tourists coming to Denmark from the EU, Schengen countries and the UK, will need to show that they have booked accommodation for at least six nights.
But this requirement will not apply to residents of 'border regions' of Schleswig-Holstein, Skåne, Halland and Blekinge.
And even if one of these border regions is rated as "quarantined", residents will still be able to enter Denmark if they can show that they have tested negative for coronavirus 72 hours before entry.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.