Will Denmark beat the Covid-19 pandemic?
"
I think we will have two months, and then I hope that the infection will begin to subside and that we will return to a normal life
", estimated Monday January 3 on Danish television Tyra Gorve Krause, chief epidemiologist of the Danish Infectious Disease Control Agency (ISS).
Read also Covid-19: Denmark and the United Kingdom facing the breakthrough of the Omicron variant
It is based on a study conducted by the ISS according to which the Omicron variant is certainly very contagious but leads to fewer hospitalizations.
According to his words, reported by the
Daily Mail
, the high rate of contamination of the variant would lead to a form of herd immunity: "
Omicron is here to stay, and it will cause a massive spread of the infection over the coming month.
When it's over, we're in a better situation than before
”.
A possible collective immunity
"
In the long term, we are in a situation where the coronavirus is here, but where we have brought it under control, and only particularly vulnerable people need to be vaccinated until the next winter season
," she added.
His words echo those made by the French Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, on France Inter Monday: "
Given the rate of contamination in our country and on the planet, it is likely that we have all acquired a form of immunity or by vaccination, or by infection, or both
”.
Read also Covid: should we abandon the idea of collective immunity?
The day before, in the columns of the
Journal du Dimanche
, he had declared that we were “
perhaps
” facing the “
last of the waves
” of Covid-19. As a reminder, Denmark lifted all restrictions against Covid-19 on September 10, before reintroducing the health pass in early November, and closing its cultural scene on December 17. Moreover, on December 22, the Danish Infectious Disease Control Authority (SSI) had indicated that it "
considers that Omicron is now the dominant variant and is growing
".
Denmark has seen an increase in the number of new cases in recent weeks and recorded its highest seven-day average infections on Sunday, recording an average of 20,886 in the previous week, or 3,592.74 per million people - l one of the highest rates in Europe.
It reported its highest new infections on record on December 27 (41,035).
“Omicron will peak at the end of January and in February we will see a drop in the infectious pressure and a decrease in the pressure on the healthcare system
,
”
Tyra Grove Krause concluded.
