Denmark Imposes New COVID-19 Restrictions as Virus Cases Surge

Denmark's prime minister announced Friday new COVID-19-related restrictions after a resurgence of coronavirus infections in recent weeks.

At a news conference in Copenhagen, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Denmark will lower the limit on public gatherings to 50 people, down from 100, and bars and restaurants will close at 10 p.m. She said both measures will take effect Saturday and stay in effect until October 4.

In recent weeks, Frederiksen said, Denmark has seen daily infections rise after a relaxing of lockdown measures imposed between March and May. She said 454 new coronavirus infections had been registered in Denmark over the prior 24 hours, close to an April record of 473.

The prime minister said the COVID-19 reproduction rate, which indicates how many people one infected person on average transmits the virus to, is at 1.5 in the country.

Denmark is part of a growing list of European countries re-imposing or tightening COVID-19 restrictions in the face of surging infections rates that follow relaxed lockdown measures.

Britain, France and Spain have all locked down regions or at least tightened restrictions in targeted areas after seeing cases surge this week. British Health Minister Matt Hancock said a second nationwide lockdown could happen if cases continue to surge.