Last week in Denmark (15.05-22.05) Episode 20

Vaccination HQ

Status: 30,6% of the population has been vaccinated (1.789.067 people). 19,6% of the population has received the second vaccine shot (1.147.570 people). 

Corona infection status: There is an average of 1200 new infected people every day. 143 people are hospitalized. The five municipalities with the highest rate of infection are: Solr?d, Ish?j, Frederiksberg, Albertslund and K?benhavn. Check out more data here. 

Vaccination calendar: Find out here, when is your turn to receive the vaccine. The calendar has been updated on 10th of May. The vaccination campaign should be completed until 29th August. The focus for next week will be the age group 45-49 and 16-19 years old. So far, 92% of the people over 70 have accepted to be vaccinated. 

Extension for immunity pass: The corona pass for people that have been infected will be valid for eight months instead of six. 

Extension for vaccine pass: 14 days after you have been vaccinated with the first jab, you qualify for a corona pass. Before, you had to wait until fully vaccinated. 

Vaccine tourism: If you have been vaccinated with the first jab (Pfizer / Moderna) in your home country and returned before receiving the second one, go to your family doctor (the one on your yellow card) and ask to be programmed here in Denmark. /// If you have been fully vaccinated abroad, go to your family doctor with the certificate in order to activate the corona pass. 

Voluntary vaccination: The government has made a deal with the company Practio regarding the voluntary vaccination (AstraZeneca / Johnson & Johnson). You can already sign up for vaccination here. 10.000 people have signed up so far. The company plans to vaccinate at least 10.000 people daily until the stocks run out. Even if it is voluntary, you can still apply for compensation in case of long-term after effects. 

Dogs instead of testing: An experiment made in France has shown that dogs can detect if you have corona with 97% efficiency. 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): Iceland, Malta, Finland, Portugal, Most of Norway (besides the regions of Agder, Telemark and Viken), 8 regions of Spain (Asturias, Balearic Islands, Ceuta, Extremadura, Galicia, Canary Islands, Murcia and Valencia) and 1 region of France (Mayotte). 

Yellow (World): 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 of Society Phase 4.0: From 21st of May, almost everything is back to normal. 

• Education: All educational institutions have called their students to return to classes (physically). 
• Work from home: Offices can run now with 20% capacity, which means some workers can say goodbye to the home office. From 14th June, it will be 50% and from 1st August is back to 100%. 
• Indoor activities: With a corona pass, you can now go to the water park, aquariums, casinos, arcades, amusement parks, zoos, playgrounds, steam baths, saunas, etc. Also activities at community centers are permitted again. 
• Assembly limits: 50 (indoors); 100 (outdoors) 
• Corona pass: It should be phased out by the end of June. 

Syria is on my mind (I): The government has decided to change their initial decision regarding the fate of the Danish children from the Syrian camps al-Hol and al-Roj. 14 children will be brought back home together with their mothers. 5 children will be brought back home only if they separate from their mothers. Read more here. 

Syria is on my mind (II): The minister of integration, Tesfaye, has decided that it is time for the Syrian refugees to go home. However, the people are not happy with that decision and big protests have been organized all over the country. The people are saying that Syria is not safe and that the refugees have already been here for more than six years (therefore have become part of the society here). 

Langeland vs. Tesfaye: The minister of integration (which slowly starts to become just as infamous as the previous one) has decided to not place the deportation center for non-Danish criminals in the Langeland municipality, after the entire municipality revolted against him. Now, he called the parties to negotiate where the deportation center could be placed. 

Local hospitals: Prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, is positive over the idea of the Danish Regions (the Assembly of the 5 Regions) to decentralize healthcare and open a series of local hospitals. 

Danish Economy HQ

Aging population: Today, 5% of the population (Denmark) is over the age of 80 (282.000 people). Statistics Denmark predicts that in 2030 there will be 431.000, and in 2050, 617.000. This means more than 10% of the population. This can spell trouble for the Danish welfare society. 

Employment: 6,000 people got hired in March. The largest increase in employment in the last six months. In total, there are 2.77 million employees in Denmark, with 32.000 less than before the pandemic. 

Support for companies: From 1st of July, there will be new financial schemes for helping companies struggling because of the pandemic. 1.65 billion dkk will be spent to revive the tourism and experience industry. Expect cheaper public transport (inside Denmark) this summer. Read more here. 

VAT charges on all non-EU purchases: A decision by the EU to scrap an exemption for low-value items means that all purchases outside the bloc will now have VAT (moms in Danish) applied. Under current rules, purchases of under 80 kroner (10 euros) do not qualify for VAT on import to Denmark, but that will no longer apply from July. Read more here. 

Daily Life in Denmark HQ

Warning: Ikea recalls plates, bowls and mugs with the names HEROISK and TALRIKA. You can return them without showing a receipt. Why? There is a risk they could break in contact with hot liquids. 

For the bees: The United Nations decided that on 20th of May we celebrate the bees. You can also help towards making the space around you bee-friendly. Check out how. 

Parkinson disease: There are 8,000 people living with Parkison’s in Denmark. To help them, Odense University Hospital has made a research project, in which they use impulses through a helmet to stimulate the brain. So far, they managed to increase the speed of movement for Parkison’s patients by 20%. 

Assisted suicide: The Danish Council of Ethics is discussing the possibility of allowing doctors to assist patients in suicide. So far, the Danish Medical Association and the Danish Parliament have been against euthanasia (in which a doctor gives the patient lethal medication at his/her request). However, the winds are changing after Germany decided to allow it. 

No more sex for priests/pastors: At least, not with people from their congregation. There is a proposal in the Danish Parliament to include priests/pastors under criminal law section 220 (where doctors and psychologists can be punished with one year prison if they have sex with their patient). The proposal has been triggered by a case, in which a 25-year old has been manipulated by her pastor to have sex. 

The (near) future of sorting trash: Brace yourselves. Here comes the “10 fraction sorting of trash” that you need to learn until 1st of July 2021. From that date, you will need to sort your trash in: madaffald (organic waste); metal; pap (carton); papir (paper); plast (plastic); tekstiler (clothes); glas (glass); mad & drikke kartoner (dirty carton); farligt affald (dangerous trash) and restaffald (others). Read more here. 

The World in 2021 HQ

Israel vs. Palestine: After 11 days of fighting, a ceasefire has been enacted on 21st of May. 72,000 people fled Palestine into Egypt. More than 400 Palestinians were killed. Check out the current status here. 

India: Faces a “Black fungus” epidemic, with a mortality rate of over 50%. The fungal infection attacks the eyes, the nose and sometimes the brain. Victimes? Patients declared healthy after recovering from corona. 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.

EU Corona Pass: From 1st of July, you will be able to use your (danish) corona pass, all over the European Union. Read more here. 

Anti-Israel manifestations: Demonstrations against Israel all over Europe (London, Paris, Madrid, Athens, Rome, Berlin and other cities) - which were in many cases horribly anti-Semitic to the extent that some governments were deeply alarmed. Read more here. 

Bulgaria: The lowest vaccination rate in the European Union (only one in ten Bulgarians has been vaccinated). Why? Delivery delays, vaccine skepticism and poor management. The government bet heavily on the wrong vaccine — Oxford/AstraZeneca, which was more affordable but supplies were unreliable. Read more here. 

Austria: After Denmark and Norway, Austria has also decided to stop using the vaccines from AstraZeneca. However the reasoning behind the decision is different. They claim issues with the promised deliveries. Also, they will continue giving the first dose until early June and the second dose to those that already got the first AstraZeneca dose. 

Spain: El País reports on the Spanish government's concerns as thousands of migrants from Morocco entered the Spanish enclave, Ceuta. The current situation follows tense weeks between Morocco and Spain, upon the discovery that resistance leader for an independent Western Sahara Brahim Gali was admitted to Spain and being treated for Covid-19 in a hospital in Logro?o. 

Italy: Some feminists and lesbian associations have joined the Catholic church and the political right in opposing a bill that would add gay, transgender people and the disabled to the categories protected by a law punishing religion and race-based hate crimes. Conflict over the proposed legislation has become an ideological battle at the heart of the culture wars in Italy, pitting freedom of expression against protection of those at risk of discrimination and victimization. Read more here. 

Artist of the Week 

Toni V. Genov  is a Bulgarian filmmaker living ?n Denmark since 2014. He started his career by making music videos and promotional videos for small companies in Aalborg, until eventually moving to Copenhagen. Currently he is working on his YouTube channel for which he writes and directs short films, as well as showing us behind the scenes. His work has been featured in UNILAD, LAD Bible, Daily Mail, NoFilmSchool and various media outlets around the world.

“I enjoy making short films that originate from limitations. For example, my latest short film “The Elevator”  was filmed in a single location with no budget, no crew and no actors. And the feedback for it has been absolutely amazing. I want to show that story will always be the most important part, and limitations should never discourage us from telling our stories.”

- Toni’s debut short film “2088” was received very well both by critics and audience, receiving an average score of 8/10.

- He also uploads filmmaking content for his YouTube channel, breaking down everything that goes into writing, filming, producing and editing content.

You can watch Toni’s short films on his YouTube channel  and follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

Until next week...

Monday: Have you ever found yourself googling your symptoms or that new mole on your neck that looks weird? Well, this week, Google announced the launch of a new search tool based on AI that will help answer your skin, hair or nails problems.

Tuesday: We are affected by certain beliefs or stories around fitness requirements. That fit neighbor who comes home with their yoga mat under their arm or that flexible person on Instagram showing a complicated physical pose. But what if I told you that one of the biggest challenges in yoga is not those complicated poses; it's more about limitations you impose upon yourself?

Wednesday: Thomas Thrane, new Principal at NGG, of which NIS is a part, says he feels honored to be appointed as the new Principal. As the son of the school's founder, he has a long association with the school and brings tremendous leadership experience to this role.

Thursday: Researchers found that “Denmark has the highest share of people aged 65-74 who used the internet in the last three months: as much as 94 percent!”

Friday: The 19th edition of the Folk High School Songbook, a community singing (f?llessang) classic, was released late last year. After much debate about making the songbook more inclusive, we look into the roots of f?llessang and its role of expressing a culture and creating it.

Saturday:  If you understand a bit of Danish or (even better) want to learn it through practice, this week’s app suggestion DRtv (available on iOS & Android)  will open your possibilities to some of the Danish national TV channels such as DR1, DR2 and Ramasjang. The app also makes available a kids section, documentaries and movies and also a digital TV guide. It’s definitely worth a try!

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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Our partners: International House North Denmark