page_title: COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark
section_title: Testing, treatment and preventive measures
hierarchical_section_title: COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark / Testing, treatment and preventive measures
caption_attribution_description: English: COVID-19 testing tent at Rigshospitalet, Denmark.
context_page_description: The COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Denmark on 27 February 2020. As of 14 August 2020, there have been 15,379 confirmed cases. Among these, 621 people have died, 13,216 have recovered, and 14 are in hospital, including 1 in intensive care.
  Denmark was among the first European countries to introduce lockdown measures, starting on 13 March. Following a period of consistent increase in hospitalisations, the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 has been falling since late March, with the number of cases in need of intensive care and ventilator units being well below available resources. Starting on 15 April, a very slow and gradual reopening has been initiated, but if there are indications that the number of infections increases too fast, it will be reversed.
  In an attempt to reduce the economic impact of the pandemic, the government has introduced large economic packages with the support of all parties in Parliament.
context_section_description: In Denmark, Aalborg University Hospital, Aarhus University Hospital, Hvidovre Hospital, Odense University Hospital, Rigshospitalet and Zealand University Hospital Roskilde have sections prepared for serious cases of COVID-19 that require treatment, as well as patients that are elderly or have pre-existing conditions and therefore are particularly vulnerable to the disease. Other hospitals were required by the regions to prepare lists of non-essential operations that can be postponed. This would allow the manpower, space and equipment to rapidly be allocated towards an outbreak of coronavirus. On 11 March 2020, the first hospitals began postponing non-essential operations as a preparation for future cases of COVID-19, and on 17 March this was done in all hospitals nationwide. Initially, all testing of samples for SARS-CoV-2 was performed at the Statens Serum Institut, but on 25 February (before the first confirmed case in the country) this was expanded to all the hospitals that also had sections that were ready for treating serious cases of COVID-19. In early March, other hospitals started to perform the tests. On 6 March, Aarhus University Hospital made a "drive-through" test facility (similar to those used in South Korea) where a person can be tested without having to leave his/her vehicle, but people using it still have to phone their personal doctor or the doctor-on-call (Danish: Lægevagten) for instructions first. On 10–11 March, Aalborg University Hospital, Regionshospital North Jutland Hjørring and Zealand University Hospital Roskilde introduced "drive-through" test facilities.
  On 11 March, the Danish Health Authority announced a change of strategy, which means that only people hospitalised with severe signs of respiratory illness or shortness of breath, will be examined for COVID-19 infection. As a consequence, it is suspected that COVID-19 cases in the country are underreported, and health officials expect the actual number to be significantly higher than the current amount of confirmed cases.
  According to the guidelines by the Danish Health Authority, all infected people that have no or mild symptoms and are not considered particularly vulnerable are placed in home quarantine with daily contact from health professionals. Anybody that has been in close contact with someone known to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 is also placed in home quarantine. As of 2 March 122 people were in home quarantine in Denmark because they had been in contact with an infected person in Denmark or abroad; by 12 March this had increased to 1366 in Denmark and 31 in the Faroe Islands. It is expected to further increase as a result of new cases of COVID-19. Should it become necessary, each region has its own facilities for quarantining at least one thousand people, and if containment of SARS-CoV-2 through normal isolation fails, more drastic measures can be implemented using the Epidemic Law (Danish: epidemiloven).
  Initially, the authorities strongly recommended that all events with more than one thousand people be cancelled or postponed, but on 11 March the limit was lowered to one hundred people; this recommendation covers March, but can be extended if necessary. Among others, football (including the Danish Superliga) and handball matches were without spectators or entirely cancelled, the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix did not have an audience, concerts and conferences were cancelled or postponed, and the Euroschoolsport tournament at Esbjerg High School, where students and teachers from much of Europe were supposed to meet, was cancelled. The Folketing cancelled some of its regular meetings and hearings, and when voting a clearing system will be used to avoid having more than 95 members in the main chamber at any one time.
  On 10 March, the authorities recommended that people using public transport attempt to reduce their travel in peak hours, additionally encouraged them to walk or cycle shorter distances instead if possible, and advised any persons feeling sick in any way or suspecting that they might have been infected against using public tra
caption: Testing tent outside Rigshospitalet
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