Danish officials advise caution as "character of coronavirus" changes

The COVID-19 epidemic in Denmark has taken on a different character since new variants of the coronavirus have emerged and taken over, according to the chief of the Danish Health Authority on Wednesday night, reported Xinhua.

"This means that if it flares up again, it will flare up faster and more violently than the first two waves," said Soren Brostrom, director general of the Authority, at a joint press conference in the Prime Minister's Office.

Brostrom was referring to B117, the more contagious coronavirus variant first discovered in the United Kingdom last September, which arrived in Denmark in November and is now the dominant variant in the country.

Minister for Health and Senior Citizens Magnus Heunicke, also speaking at the press conference, cited a recent study from Danish authorities that "aligned very well with data from the UK", showing that more people infected with B117 were being admitted to hospital.

Up to last week, B117 accounted for about 60 percent of the analyzed positive samples in Denmark, according to Heunicke.

Henrik Ullum, director of the Statens Serum Institut (SSI), said the study confirmed that the presence of the B117 would put limits to the extent the Danish society can reopen.

"It is clear that the results of the study ensure that we have to take into account the mathematical models and the dimensions of how much we can open up," said Ullum.

The minister expressed his concern over the variant first identified in South Africa, which has already shown a reduced sensitivity to antibodies in some studies. The variant has been found in 13 citizens in Denmark, with the latest two cases being homegrown.

"The infections in the last two cases are not linked to travel activity, so the infection appears to have occurred between citizens. However, it is important to say that the numbers are still low," he noted.

According to Brostrom, the growth of variants only justify the government's recent decision on the partial reopening on March 1.

"We need to do more to limit the virus. Therefore, the reopening has to be more cautious than previous ones," said Brostrom.

According to the SSI, Denmark registered 523 new COVID-19 infections and a further two deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the country's total cases and toll to 209,097 and 2,345 respectively.