Last week in Denmark (10.04-17.04) Episode 15

Vaccination HQ

Status: 17,5% of the population has been vaccinated (1.022.477 people). 8.4% of the population has received the second vaccine shot (488.202 people). 

Corona infection status: There is an average of 700 new infected people every day. 185 people are hospitalized. The five municipalities with the highest rate of infection are: Ish?j, Hvidovre, Albertslund, H?je-Taastrup and Greve. Check out more data here. 

Vaccination calendar: Find out here, when is your turn to receive the vaccine. The calendar has been updated on 14th of April. The vaccination campaign should be completed until 8th August. 

The end for AstraZeneca: Denmark has decided to completely stop the usage of the AstraZeneca vaccines. The Danish Medicine Agency considers the risk to be too high, when there are safer alternatives. However, there are discussions regarding the introduction of a voluntary-basis vaccination with AstraZeneca (where you as a citizen take the risk upon yourself). Czech Republic and Latvia have already made requests to take over the AstraZeneca vaccine stock. 

Vaccinated with AstraZeneca: The 150,000 people that already received the first vaccine jab with AstraZeneca, will get the second jab with a different vaccine. 

Side effects from vaccination: If the side-effects from vaccination affected your ability to work, you can register them as occupational injury, in order to receive compensation. Read more here. 

Cheaper is not better: The one-jab miracle vaccine, easier to transport and storage, at a tenth from the cost of a Pfizer vaccine, from Johnson & Johnson, has been put on hold. In the USA, they paused its usage, after blood clots as side-effects have been discovered. It seems that the conventional vaccines (AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson) are losing the battle with the mRNA vaccines (PfizerBionTech, Moderna). 

Debunking fake news: Have you seen the video where through a home experiment you can see “little black worms” in your mask? The Danish Medicines Agency reacted and with the help of experts, discovered the nature of the “little black worms”. They are synthetic fibers that can give the illusion of moving when they absorb moisture from steam or breath. 

“Couch potato” risk: The British Journal of Sports Medicine has published a study that shows a higher risk to be hospitalized (from corona) among those with a low level of physical activity. Basically, if your after-work activity is sitting on the couch and watching movies, you should be very careful. Want to reduce the risk? Do at least 2 hours and a half of physical activity every week. 

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). 

Latest poll: Sociademokratiet (Social Democrats) - 30,7%; Konservative (Conservatives) - 15,5%; Venstre (Liberals) - 10,4%; Nye Borgerlige (New Right) - 8,8%; SF (Socialists) - 8,1%; Enhedslisten (Red-Green Alliance) - 7,6%; DF (People’s Party) - 5,3%; Radikale Venstre (Social Liberals) - 5%; Liberal Alliance - 2,5%; Christian Democrats - 2,2%; Alternativet - 1%; The new captain of the “blue” parties has become the Conservative Party. 

New political party: The former Prime Minister and former leader of Venstre, Lars L?kke Rasmussen has decided to transform his political network into a political party. The party wants to be the center between the “red” parties and the “blue” parties, without choosing an ideology. 

Re-opening Agreement 2.0: The current pandemic situation in Denmark is kept under control. This has given the parliamentary parties room to negotiate again the re-opening plan. A new agreement has been reached on 15th April at midnight. The following have been added to the original agreement. 

Limits on how many people can be in one place

• 21 April – 10 (inside); 50 (outside)
• 6 May – 25 (inside); 75 (outside)
• 21 May – 50 (inside); 100 (outside)
• 11 June – 100 (inside); Abolished (outside)
• 1 August – Abolished (inside)

Going to restaurants, bars and cafes

• 21 April – with corona pass (inside); without corona pass (outside)

Sport

• 21 April – can attend football matches with corona pass (as a viewer)

Travel Reopening Agreement 

Phase 1 – From 21st April 

• Weekly update from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – which will classify all the countries/regions in three colors – “yellow”, “orange” and “red”.  At the moment, all the countries are classified as “red”. 
• The countries/regions with a low to medium infection risk will be classified with “yellow” and “orange”. 
• The countries/regions with dangerous mutations will be classified with “red”. 
• If you travel to Denmark, from a “yellow” country/region, you don’t have to go in isolation. 
• If you traveled for business purposes, you don’t have to go in isolation. 
• If you traveled to your farm/summer house (located in another Nordic country), you don’t have to go in isolation. 
• The “recognizable purpose” list to enter Denmark has been extended to: exchange students, agricultural trainees, spouses, summer house owners, boat owners and “h?jskole- and efterskole” students.
• Professional athletes can participate in tournaments abroad.

Phase 2 – From 1st May 

• People with an address in Denmark can travel to “yellow” and “orange” EU states and come back, without testing and isolation, if they are vaccinated. Tourists from “yellow” and “orange” EU states can enter Denmark without testing and isolation, if they are vaccinated. 
• The time you have to get a negative test before entering Denmark has been extended, from 24 hours to 48 hours. 

Phase 3 – From the end of May (the date is unclear as of now) 

• The third phase will begin when all the people in Denmark over the age of 50 (who wish to be vaccinated) have received the first jab of the vaccine. 
• The rules of classifying a country/region, “yellow” or “orange” will be changed. Countries with higher infection rates (50-60 per 100.000 citizens per week) will also escape the “red” classification. 
• If you come from a “yellow” country, you don’t need recognizable purpose or isolation. 
• If you come from an “orange” EU state, you don’t need a recognizable purpose. 
• If you travel from a border region into Denmark, you don’t need to go in isolation. 

Phase 4 – Expected (26 June) (the date is unclear as of now) 

• The fourth phase will begin when the EU corona pass will be introduced. 
• With an EU corona pass you can go anywhere on the territory of the European Union. 
• Without an EU corona pass, the travel restrictions and infection prevention measures will continue to apply. 

New police stations: 20 local police stations will be opened this year around Denmark, in order to increase the presence of the police in certain areas. The police stations will be placed in - Ish?j Centret, H?je Gladsaxe, near Asker?d in Hundige, near Islandsh?jparken in Niv?, Br?nderslev, Aars, Odder, Ikast, Struer, Grindsted, Hedensted, Toftlund, Esbjerg, Assens, Nyborg, Sor?, Kors?r, Asn?s, Helsinge and T?rnby. More police stations means more jobs in this field. Check out if you qualify. 

Danish Economy HQ

Jobs in nature: The Department of Nature is hiring 60 people, to reinforce the manpower that takes care of our parks and forests. Fancy a job, planting trees and feeding wild animals? Read more here. 

Electric trains: Denmark has acquired 100 electric trains from the french company Alstom. They will be delivered between 2024 and 2030. The trains will replace the current IC3, IC4 and IR4. Total cost - 20 billion dkk. 

Delay for annual reports: The minister of trade and industry, Simon Kollerup has proposed a one-month delay for the annual reports. The proposal awaits the approval of the Parliament. The deadline to apply for compensation packages has also been extended with one month. Read more here. 

Daily Life in Denmark HQ

Aarhus: The recent shooting episodes have determined the police to establish 20 “visitation zones” around Aarhus (Gellerupparken, Tovesh?j, Trilleg?rden and Herredsvang), where they can stop anyone for body/possessions/vehicle search (looking for weapons). 

Fishing: You can start fishing for salmon. The season will be open until 15th October. 

New Danish record: The 42-years old 200 meters Danish record has been broken. The 19-year old sprinter, Tazana Kamanga-Dyrbak, is the new holder of the record. 

New bus lines: Kombardo Express is opening 25 new routes (which also include 5 new cities - Slagelse, Vejle, Fredericia, Kolding and Esbjerg.) from 23 April. 

Friends of patients: If you have a friend in the hospital, you can once again go visit. The Danish Agency for Patient Safety decided that the corona situation is under control and most of the health staff has already been vaccinated, therefore making it safe again to visit hospitals. This doesn’t apply for Herlev and Hvidovre hospitals. 

Fake nude photos: Sharing a fake nude photo is illegal and a violation of the criminal law. Your full body photo can be stolen and with the help of artificial intelligence, recreated as you are nude in it. This is called fake porn. Read more here. 

The World in 2021 HQ

Russia: As a response to the American sanctions, they expelled 10 diplomats and put an end to the activity of American NGOs on their territory. The relations between Russia and the USA became colder. As a response to the Russian move, Poland expelled 3 Russian diplomats and The Czech Republic expelled 18. 

G7: The Group of Seven (Canada, France, Italy, Japan, UK, Germany and USA) urges Russia to stop its provocations at the Ukrainian border and immediately move away the troops. Ukraine has applied to become a member of NATO in order to be protected by article 5 (collective defence). If Russia crosses the border it will lead to a war NATO vs Russia. 

Iran vs. Israel: The Iranian government blames Israel for an attack on a nuclear plant. The Iranian foreign minister promised revenge. Read more here. 

China: The government admitted that their coronavirus vaccines are not very good and plan now to mix them with other foreign-made vaccines. Hungary is the only EU member state that uses Chinese vaccines. Read more here. 

New Zealand: The first country in the world to introduce a climate change law for financial firms. Read more here. 

USA: President Joe Biden has decided to take the US forces out of Afghanistan by 11 september 2021. Denmark will also withdraw its 135 soldiers from Afghanistan. 

European Union HQ

Free books and magazines: As a citizen of the European Union, you can order for free books and magazines from the “Publications Office of the European Union”. 

Mother Earth: The European leaders want to expand the definition of human rights, to include Mother Earth, making ecocide on the same level as genocide and crimes against humanity, under the purview of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Read more here. 

End fossil energy projects: Denmark, France, Germany, UK, Spain, Sweden and Netherlands have agreed to discontinue public export subsidies for fossil energy projects. 

Sweden: They consider the AstraZeneca vaccine to be safe enough and therefore will keep using it for people over 65 years old. 

Germany: The competition for becoming the next chancellor of Germany is getting hot. The two main contenders are: Chairman of CDU (Christian Democrat Union), Armin Laschet and leader of CSU (Bavarian sister of CDU), Markus S?der. Armin Laschet promises to continue Merkel-centrist politics, while Markus S?der wants a more right-wing Germany. 

Czech Republic: Another minister fired because of opposition to the Russian vaccine. The foreign minister, Tomá? Pet?í?ek is the second one after the health minister, last week. President Milo? Zeman is dedicated to eliminating all opposition to the Russian vaccine. In the same time, the Czech Communist Party withdraws its support for Prime Minister Andrej Babis, making him vulnerable to a no-confidence vote in the Czech Parliament. 

Bulgaria: The era of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov is over. All the other parties have refused to make a majority with his party, GERB. The foreign minister Daniel Mitov will make a second attempt to form a government under his leadership. However, the chances for a new government are slim. We are looking at new elections. Read more here. 

Romania: The health minister, Vlad Voiculescu has been fired by the Prime Minister Florin C??u. Reason - Bad management of the third wave. Read more here. 

Artist of the Week 

Victoria Ichizli-Bartels: A self-proclaimed life gamer turning everything in her life into fun games and not intending ever to stop designing and playing her self-motivational games. In addition to being a life gamer, Victoria is a founder of her writing and consulting business Optimist Writer, author of twenty books, top writer on Medium, instructor, coach, and consultant. Writing is Victoria’s favourite format of expressing herself and sharing her passion for Self-Gamification, the gameful and playful self-help approach she developed for turning life into fun and exciting games for ourselves. Victoria was born and grew up in Moldova, lived in Germany for twelve years, and since 2008, lives in Aalborg, with her husband and two children.

• Gameful Mind: Solve the Puzzle of Your Enigmatic Subconscious (in Gameful Life series) and the second (5-Year) edition of the 5 Minute Perseverance Game: A Self-Motivational Game to Help You Melt Your Procrastination. 
• Gameful Project Management: Self-Gamification Based Awareness Boosters for Your Project Management Success, released on Udemy 
• Gameful Blogging on Medium.com and Gameful Habits (both in Gameful Life series).
• Gameful Healing to help people who like Victoria deal with multiple health conditions. The recording will start in May and be based on Victoria’s memoir with the same title, Gameful Healing: Almost a Memoir; Not Quite a Parable (also in Gameful Life series).

Until next week...

Monday: When moving to Denmark, one of your first priorities should be to have your immigration/work permit in order. In some cases, depending on your nationality and the reason for moving to Denmark, permits might not be necessary. This article focuses on those crucial steps.

 Tuesday: “Social-media usage has been linked to depression, anxiety, and sleep disruption. It is also driving wedges between families and friends over differing political views, keeping us glued to our phones all day long, and causing some to develop self-esteem issues from comparing their lives to other people’s virtual ones.” This article gives some perspective on our relationship with social media in 2021.

Wednesday: A well-known Scandinavian concept is to pursue a gap year or sabbatical following high school. A rising number of internationals choose this viable and enriching alternative, known as "sabbats?r" in Danish. Taking a year off to travel, work, volunteer, learn a new skill, or prepare for university can offer tremendous benefits with personal takeaways that are life-changing.

Thursday: If you also feel tired when you wake up, it might be a good time to consider changing your pillow. Different sleep positions ask for different types of pillows. For example: “Side sleepers need a firm pillow, one that supports the neck so it stays level with the shoulders.”

Friday: Motivated by their altruistic values that intertwine with the International Baccalaureate, the students at Copenhagen International School are involved in the Team Peru initiative, which partners with UK-based charity organization Kiya Survivors, and aids Mama Cocha Children's Centre in Peru. Read further on how to get involved.

Saturday: Do you often buy wine for a nice dish, but it doesn’t really pair up well? Vivino is the App you’re looking for! You download the app, scan the wine label and find out everything from taste, texture and also what to pair it with. Enjoy!

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)

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