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Coronavirus Round-Up: Government further eases travel restrictions for Sweden
Kaukab Tahir Shairani
July 17th, 2020
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This article is more than 4 years old.
Elsewhere, the US reopens to European students while virologists worry about large crowds of tourists in Skagen
Denmark opens up to more Swedish regions such as Halland, Kalmar and Värmland (photo: Pxfuel)
The goverment on Thursday eased restrictions against non-essential travel to three more regions of Sweden – Halland, Kalmar and Värmland.
Earlier, the regions of Västerbotton, Kronoberg, Skåne and Blekinge in Sweden reopened to tourists from Denmark.
Reopening to more countries
The government has also allowed Danes to travel to Georgia, Uruguay and Tunisia.
However, Uruguay and Georgia have both imposed quarantine requirements for Danish travellers upon entry.
The new countries are in addition to the initial list of non-European nations that Denmark has reopened to – Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Thailand.
The government imposed travel restrictions in March to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Pictures from Skagen worry virologists
In recent days, photos from Skagen have shown scores of visitors at the beach enjoying the summer holidays. Allan Randrup Thomsen, virologist at the University of Copenhagen, said that this was a cause of concern because new coronavirus infections are still being reported. He urged those who participated in the festivities in Skagen to be tested for the coronavirus upon return. The government has eased the assembly ban to allow gatherings of up to 100 people but still imposes a distancing requirement of staying one metre apart.
US reopens to European students
The US on Friday reopened to students from European countries after closing to travellers from the continent in March to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The decision came as part of Washington’s attempt to gradually resume international travel. The move also comes after the Trump administration reversed a plan that could have forced tens of thousands of international students to leave the US if their education takes place exclusively online. The government changed its mind after pressure from universities and companies.
Corona app proves useful – health ministry
The Ministry of Health and the Elderly believes that the COVID-19 app has proven useful after it warned four people about possibly contracting the virus. Smittestop is Denmark’s official app for coronavirus detection. The ministry however said that it was not possible to map the full effect of the app. About 745,000 people in Denmark have downloaded the app. Experts however said that it would be ideal if more than a million people had the app.
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