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Today in Denmark: A round-up of the latest news on Monday

Michael Barrett
Michael Barrett - [email protected]
Today in Denmark: A round-up of the latest news on Monday
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken disembarks from his airplane upon arrival at Copenhagen Airport in Denmark May 16, 2021. Saul Loeb/Pool via REUTERS

Find out what's going on in Denmark today with The Local's short round-up of the news in less than five minutes.

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US Secretary of State in Denmark

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will meet foreign minister Jeppe Kofod in Copenhagen today.

Blinken’s stop in the Danish capital comes ahead of a trip to Greenland which shows that the US's strategic focus on the Arctic has outlived the Trump presidency. 

In Copenhagen, Blinken will meet Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and other Danish leaders as well as business people on issues including “combating the climate crisis,” including the development of new technologies, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

The top US diplomat will meet Greenland’s full leadership on the stop Thursday in Kangerlussuaq, the sparsely populated island’s main transport hub.

More on this story here.

More negotiations over corona passport

Denmark’s roadmap for gradually lifting coronavirus restrictions includes provisions for parliamentary parties to meet regularly in order to discuss potential changes to the plan on an ongoing basis as the situation with the virus and vaccination programme progresses.

This week will see a new round of negotiations. Broadcaster DR reports that the corona passport, is likely to be high on the agenda for discussions. The passport, which is used to document a recent negative test or immunity from vaccination or recovery from Covid-19, is currently mandated for access to a number of services including hairdressers, cafes and restaurants.

Currently, the passports must be produced by everyone who wishes to use any of the relevant services, but several parties have asked for a spot-check system to replace the mandatory checks.

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Foreign-based Danes can return home for Covid-19 vaccination 

Danish citizens who live in other countries can now return home to receive a Covid-19 vaccination if they are registered on the national healthcare system, the Danish Health Authority has confirmed.

As such, not all Danes who live abroad will qualify for vaccination in Denmark – many do not retain the yellow health insurance card when they register as having moved abroad. But there are a number of situations – for example, people who live in the EU or who live abroad and work in Denmark – in which access to the health system in Denmark is retained and a special health insurance card (sygesikringskort) is issued.

Additionally, people who are staying in Denmark temporarily for 30 days or more can be offered a Covid-19 inoculation under the Danish health system, provided the reason for their stay is not to access vaccination.

We’ll have more detail on this in an article today.

Pride event cancels Copenhagen parade due to Covid-19 restrictions

International pride event WorldPride, scheduled to be hosted in Copenhagen this year, has cancelled a parade planned for August 21st due to ongoing restrictions on public assembly.

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Copenhagen’s hosting of the event has been several years in the making.

READ ALSO: Copenhagen awarded WorldPride 2021 event

A number of smaller-scale events will take place, enabling the festival to comply with coronavirus rules.

“We’d hoped for 35,000 people at Rådhuspladsen (City Hall Square), but that’s no longer an option. So the party won’t be quite as big, but the message will be the same,” Benjamin Hansen, vice-chairperson and director of Copenhagen 2021, which includes WorldPride 2021, told news wire Ritzau.

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