Having to show off a so-called corona pass before you can sit down at a table in a restaurant, work out in a gym or get a haircut at a hairdresser has been a part of everyday life for our neighbors in Denmark since April this year.

The idea is that the passes will help keep the infection in check while the country gradually eases pandemic restrictions.

- The Danish corona passport is not perfect, but it reduces the spread of infection when many people meet because you can show that you have either been vaccinated or recently tested, says Henrik Ullum, head of the Danish infection control authority Statens Serum Institut, SSI.

Tests six times more than Sweden

For those who have not been vaccinated or can prove that they have recently undergone a covid infection, the regular test applies.

An antigen test, also called a rapid test, must not be more than 72 hours old and a PCR test, which is analyzed in a lab, must not be more than 96 hours old.

All tests are free and according to the Danish government, it must not be more than 20 km to the nearest test station.

- It is good to have the opportunity and that people can be sure that they are not infected by the virus so that they can go out and have fun and do everyday things as before, says student Ida Lund who SVT Nyheter meets outside a test center in central Copenhagen.

Throughout the pandemic, testing and testing a lot has been an important part of Denmark's corona strategy.

According to statistics from the European Agency for Communicable Disease Control, ECDC, Denmark is the EU country that has conducted the most corona tests per capita.

Since the start of the pandemic, Denmark, for example, has performed almost six times as many PCR tests per 100,000 inhabitants as Sweden, according to figures from SSI and the Swedish Public Health Agency.

7 out of 10 positive to the corona pass

Henrik Ullum at SSI sees several advantages with Denmark's strategy.

- My picture of what we have succeeded in in Denmark is that we made an early reopening without getting into a big third wave and there it was our large test capacity together with local shutdowns and corona passes that allowed us to open early and did not have to back down, as other countries were allowed to do, he says.

Many of the Danes are for corona passes.

In an opinion poll conducted in April this year, for example, almost 7 out of 10 said that they are positive about them.

As more people are vaccinated, however, the idea is that the corona passages will be phased out gradually.

From 1 September, for example, there will no longer be a requirement for restaurants, something that is welcomed by many traders.

- The idea that we are vaccinated is that we should be able to socialize as usual, so I look forward to it disappearing, says bar owner Peter Fredholt.

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See state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell on the Danes' covid strategy.

Photo: SVT