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COPENHAGEN, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- An emergency law that requires COVID-19 testing and quarantine for all those entering Denmark was passed by a broad majority in the Danish Parliament on Tuesday, according to a press release from the Ministry of Health.
"We must do what we can to limit the risk of new infection chains in Denmark -- especially now that we see new mutations of COVID-19, which we risk importing here," said Nick Haekkerup, Minister of Justice, in the press release.
Henceforth, those seeking entry into Denmark are required to undergo a coronavirus test, followed by 10 days of quarantine. The period might be shortened, subject to "a negative PCR test performed at the earliest on the fourth day after entry."
The new act will also provide the Danish Agency for Patient Safety better access to information about passengers entering Denmark by air, according to the press release.
"While we see that the general contact number is declining, this is unfortunately not the case for B117 (coronavirus variant) which is expected to account for 80 percent of cases in Denmark by the beginning of this March," said Magnus Heunicke, the health minister, in the press release.
"It can be absolutely crucial to what spring we look into and the possibility of reopening society," Heunicke added.
According to the Statens Serum Institut (SSI), Denmark registered 397 new COVID-19 infections and a further 15 deaths in the past 24 hours. To date, the country has reported 199,357 cases and 2,160 deaths.
As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in many European countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.
Meanwhile, 237 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 63 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Jan. 29. Enditem