A look inside Denmark’s mask-off, live-with-COVID-19 life

COPENHAGEN – This charming Danish capital is many things to many people the city of fairy tales, the home of children’s writer Hans Christian Andersen, the happiest city in the world, and of course, it’s where you’ll find the Little Mermaid, she in Andersen’s tragic love story of a 15-year old mermaid who saves the life of a shipwrecked prince.

But in this time of the global health pandemic, Copenhagen became the symbol of Denmark’s bold approach in dealing with COVID-19 as local and foreign tourists started swarming the capital again soon after the Nordic country became the first European Union nation to lift all virus-related restrictions last Feb. 1.

And here’s how it looks – face masks are off, vaccination cards are no longer needed, and social distancing is a thing of the past. Pubs, restaurants, night clubs, museums, the metro and other public transportation are packed with people. The usual crowds are back, and even more these days, locals say.

I arrived here four days ago and I made it through immigration in a breeze – no COVID-19 documents needed. No vaccination certificates, no proof of vaccination cards, no PCR-test results required.

I have been to restaurants, churches, town squares, plazas, the subway; I have been on a boat ride, and I even crossed the border to nearby Sweden and yet, no matter how hard I looked around, I have seen only two other people wearing masks -- a senior citizen couple.

‘No longer a critical threat’

But it’s not simply that masks are off. What is really telling is that the Danes no longer feel anxious about COVID-19.

As for me, a visitor from the country with the world’s longest lockdown or COVID-19 restrictions, I surely felt envious about the freedom the Danes have.

What a joy it must feel to get to this point after two years of this debilitating pandemic.

“It’s the end of COVID-19,” said the cab driver I hailed from the airport to bring me to the city.

But it’s not so much that the virus is gone. It’s really because Danish authorities no longer consider COVID-19 as a critical threat to society.

Should the Philippines follow?

Should we heed Denmark’s example and lift all COVID-19 restrictions as well?

I wish we could, but it won’t be that easy. What makes Denmark different from us is that it’s a small country – population 5.8 million – that has high vaccination rates,  huge testing capabilities, a strong healthcare system, as well as data infrastructure and an efficient government.

The Danish healthcare system for one, is strong, universal, and based on the principles of free and equal access to healthcare for all citizens.

It’s a system that offers high-quality health services, the majority of which are financed by general taxes.  Because of this healthcare system, thfe expectancy in Denmark has increased from 77.9 years in 2005 to 80.6 years in 2015, according to Denmark’s Ministry of Health.

In contrast, our health system is fragile, expensive, and inaccessible to many Filipinos. Our vaccination rates, as of this writing, are still low – 61.1 of the population have been vaccinated and only 11.6 percent have received their boosters.

Denmark was able to lift restrictions last Feb. 1 due to the country’s high vaccination rate, experts say.

More than 80 percent of the population over the age of five have had two vaccinations and over 60 percent have been given a third booster dose, according to an article published by Deutsche Welle.

When Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced the easing of restrictions on Feb. 1, she said, “We are ready to step out of the shadow of the coronavirus. We say ‘goodbye’ to restrictions and ‘welcome’ to the life we knew before.”

“COVID-19 is no longer classified as ‘socially critical’ in Denmark, which permitted the government to impose restrictions. Polls suggest that the move is supported widely by the Danish public,” the Deutsche Welle article also said.

Nadia, a local guide, says the Danes feel very relieved that restrictions have been lifted and that they can go back to their normal lives after three rounds of COVID-19 lockdowns or restrictions since the pandemic happened.

At the same time, the Danes continue to keep distance from the elderly, and perhaps others who may be at risk, Michael Petersen, a professor in the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University in Denmark, commenting on the lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions, said in several posts on Twitter in February.

He said that as lockdowns breed mistrust, it is prudent to relax measures whenever possible, as what Denmark has done.

Four days in Copenhagen is enough for me to feel – or even just a semblance of it – that the pandemic is over. It is no doubt a welcome respite – even for a moment – from two years of hard lockdowns and a difficult pandemic life back home.

To simply look around and see the faces of people without masks; to see the smiles of strangers; to hear their laughter instead of voices muffled by masks; and to feel the Danish concept of hygge or cozy contentment, even for just a short while, is cathartic, surreal, bizarre and almost unbelievable.

It certainly feels like I’m walking in a fairy tale and I probably am. I am in the city of fairy tales after all.

Iris Gonzales’ email address is [email protected].

Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at eyesgonzales.com