Last week in Denmark (05.06-12.06) Episode 23

Vaccination HQ

Status: 44,6% of the population has been vaccinated (2.609.733 people). 24,9% of the population has received the second vaccine shot (1.457.123 people). 

Corona infection status: There is an average of 500 new infected people every day. 111 people are hospitalized. The five municipalities with the highest rate of infection are: Aalborg, K?ge, Randers, K?benhavn and Aarhus. Check out more data here. 

Vaccination calendar: Find out here, when is your turn to receive the vaccine. The calendar has been updated on 1st of June. The vaccination campaign should be completed by 12th September. The focus for next week will be the age group 25-29 and 35-39 years old. 

The end of testing: The minister of health, Magnus Heunicke announced that mass testing will slowly be phased out in favor of wastewater testing. There is no clear date in regards to when the test centers will be closed. Read more here. 

Danish Politics HQ

Political quiz: How well do you know what happened in the previous week in Denmark? Take the quiz and find out. (It’s in Danish). 

Travel Reopening: The foreign ministry has released the weekly update (with the map in three colors - yellow, orange, red). 

Yellow (Europe): Cyprus, Croatia, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Iceland, Malta, Finland, Portugal, Most of Norway (besides the regions of Agder, Telemark and Viken), 7 regions of Spain (Asturias, Balearic Islands, Extremadura, Galicia, Canary Islands, Murcia and Valencia), 3 regions of France (Mayotte, Martinique, Corsica) and 4 regions of Greece (Peloponnes, Voreio Aigaio, Notio Aigaio, Makedonia Thraki).

Yellow (World): Rwanda, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Israel. 

Red: Nepal, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Eswatini, India, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as the region of La Réunion, an overseas French territory. 

Re-opening agreement 5.0: Last step before returning to normal :) 

• Face masks: From 14th June, masks will only be necessary in the collective transport (bus, metro, train). From 1st of September, masks will be phased out. 
• Closing time for bars: From 11th June, the closing time is extended to midnight. From 15th July, the closing time will be 02.00 in the morning. 
• Corona pass: It will no longer be needed to access ...
• From 14th June - libraries and association activities 
• From 1st August - theaters, venues, indoor sport activities
• From 1st September - restaurants, hairdresser and the gym 
• From 1st October - phased out completely 
• Validity of negative PCR test: From 1st July, your negative PCR test result will be valid for 96 hours (4 days), instead of three as it is today. 
• Discos / Nightclubs: They will be reopened from 1st of September. 
• Education: From 14th June, the school will return to normal (the one known before March 2020), with one exception. Testing twice a week will continue until 1st of September. 

Local budgets 2022: The government and the national association of local authorities (KL) agreed on the national contribution to the local budgets for 2022. Total value = 275.4 billion dkk. Some mayors are not happy with the agreement as not enough money was allocated towards the special sector (vulnerable and disabled people) and in general, for maintaining the welfare services. Read more here. 

Center for CyberSecurity: The government will use 500 million dkk to equip the Center for CyberSecurity with more funds, employees and a travel team. Any IT professional can volunteer to join the Cyber Home Guard, to protect Denmark against cyber threats. Read more here. 

Health Clusters: The government, KL (Association of Local Authorities) and Danske Regioner (Association of Regional Authorities) have established 21 health clusters. The new health clusters will have both a professional and a political level and include representatives from the region, municipalities and general practice. Read more here. 

Danish Economy HQ

Green ideas for the food sector: 102 million dkk for development projects and professional networks that promote green solutions in the food sector. You can apply here until 2nd of September. Anyone with a good idea to make food's journey from farm to fork more sustainable for both the environment, climate and economy can start to sharpen the application pen.

Border shopping: After a complaint from the Danish Chamber of Commerce, the European Union is now looking to convince Germany to introduce “pant” for the cans and bottles sold ?n the border shops. 

Social security benefits (kontanthj?lp): 111,500 people receive social security in Denmark. The number is the lowest in a decade, 9.400 less than last year. You can receive kontanthj?lp if you are out of work and not studying and are unable to support yourself financially. 

Daily Life in Denmark HQ

Warning: Libero Nursing Pads are being recalled, due to being potentially dangerous for the baby. You can send them back to Libero. Check here how. 

Fish Nurseries: 50 of them will be placed in the Port of Copenhagen. The biohuts will provide food and shelter to the young fish, and restore the ecological nursery function that was lost when natural shallow coastal waters were turned into urban environments.

Tilstandsrapporter (house condition reports): If you are planning to buy a house, pay extra attention to the “tildstandsrapporter” as they seem to be plagued with mistakes. The ministry of trade and industry announced that they will increase the number of checks on the house condition reports. However, 99% of the reports will still not be checked. Read more here. 

Counterfeit goods (fake): 18% of the youth (15-24 years old) has bought unknowingly fake goods online. What can you do to avoid being scammed? 1. Review the website 2.If the price is too good to be true 3. Check reviews 4. Look for the e-Label. Read more here. 

“Make your garden wild” campaign: “Slip haven fri!” is a collaboration between REMA 1000 and the Danish Society for Nature Conservation, which runs from 2021 to the end of 2023. The goal is to help 50,000 house owners create wild areas in their gardens. The requirement for participation is that you want to make at least 20 percent of the garden area wild. Read more here. 

Posters against food waste: Amazing artists from all over Europe created limited edition posters that will definitely spice up your kitchen. Whether about the origin of food, the beauty of it, or simply some tricks on how to use your products, you'll find something that you love! Check them out here. 

The World in 2021 HQ

UK: Tinder, Hinge and Bumble have made a collaboration with the British government to promote vaccination. The users will be able to show their support for vaccination with stickers on the profile picture and receive various bonuses. 

Turkey: A thick, slimy layer of the mucus-like matter is spreading along the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul, damaging marine life and the fishing industry. Experts blame pollution and climate change. Read more here. 

El Salvador: El Salvador's president will make the Bitcoin cryptocurrency legal tender in the country, becoming first in the world to adopt the digital currency. It would be used alongside the US dollar, El Salvador's official currency. Read more here. 

G7: The G7 (France, Germany, Italy, UK, USA, Canada, Japan) finance ministers agreed to set a minimum 15 percent global corporate tax threshold, a step that will force companies to pay taxes in the countries where they generate their business, instead of siphoning profits offshore to tax havens. Read more here. 

Revived after 24,000 years: A microscopic animal called a bdelloid rotifer came back to life after being frozen for 24,000 years in Siberia and then successfully made clones of itself. Read more here. 

Hope for Alzheimer patients: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval for ADUHELM? as the first and only Alzheimer’s disease treatment to address a defining pathology of the disease by reducing amyloid beta plaques in the brain. 

USA: Will buy 500 million more doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to share through the global COVAX alliance for donation to 92 lower-income countries and the African Union over the next year. Read more here. 

European Union HQ

Conference on the Future of Europe: the conference will run until the spring of 2022, when the conclusions of the event will become guidelines for the development of the Union. It will contain the future that the majority wants, whatever that might be. Access the hub of the Conference, which is a multilingual digital platform, and submit your ideas, discuss other people’s ideas, find events related to the Conference or even guidelines on how to organize your own event.

European Inventor Award 2021: Check out the most remarkable scientists and inventors of our time here. You can watch the award ceremony on 17th June. Italian scientist Marco Donolato from Technical University of Denmark is in the finals. 

LUX Awards 2021: The movie of the year in Europe is the Romanian documentary “Collective”. This stirring documentary is titled after a nightclub in Bucharest where a fire killed 27 young people in 2015 and left 180 wounded. The documentary follows a team of journalists who investigate why 37 of the burn victims died in hospitals, although their wounds were not life threatening. The other two films shortlisted for the award were: Another Round by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg and Corpus Christi by Polish director Jan Komasa. 

Until next week...

Monday: “Doing long-term thinking well requires identifying when you’re being patient or just stubborn. Not an easy thing to do. The only solution is knowing the very few things in your industry that will never change and putting everything else in a bucket that’s in constant need of updating and adapting.”

Tuesday: As a parent, it can be quite unsettling not to understand all the new technologies your child/children have access to in today’s fast-pacing world. TikTok is growing fast among the youth and in order to help parents understand the platform better, they created new Safely Center Guides.

Wednesday: If it (finally) looks like you’ll be able to enjoy a nice holiday away from home and you don’t have anyone close to take care of your plants, here are some tips that might help.

Thursday: Are you ready to see cap-wearing high-school graduates riding and partying in trucks this summer? Learn more about the different traditions and etiquettes around the high school graduation in Denmark.

Friday: Learn about why healthy bones are about much more than just drinking milk in this Ted Talk by Dr. Jen Gunter.

Saturday: The summer is finally here! As much as we love the heat and the light from the sun, it also comes with some not-so-positive aspects such as sunburns or even skin cancer. This week’s app recommendation is UV-INDEKS (iOS & Android). It’s an app that informs you on a daily basis about the level of UV in your city and, based on your skin type, how much you can stay in the sun until you will get sunburns. It’s also available in English and works outside Denmark as well!

See you on Sunday!

Newsletter team

Curator: Narcis George Matache / Proofreader: Monika Elend (English/Polish)

Marketing & Distribution: Cristian Pa?cal?u (Marketing), Andreea Bianca Buza (Graphics), Lucian Pal (Distribution)

Romanian-version team: Diana Popa, Delia-Claudia Sima, Oana Elena T?nase

Polish-version team: Pawel Kubulus, Kajetan Domski. Miguel Oliveira (Distribution)