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On Tuesday, Henrik Ullum will take over as director of the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) in Denmark. On the first day of work, throw a torch at those who imagine celebrating a normal Christmas.
For TV 2, Ullum says he is concerned about this year’s holiday celebration and that it may be the biggest challenge yet in the pandemic.
– If we don’t really take care of ourselves, we run the risk of the pandemic breaking out, he says.
Danes typically travel across the country to celebrate Christmas with family and friends.
– All of 2020 has been difficult. We are now coming out of 2020 and there is a vaccine on the way. I can understand well if someone thinks “Now we no longer bother to relate to the crown.” But we have to do that for a while longer, he tells the television station.
Also read: Four out of ten Norwegians are ready to travel before Christmas
– I can’t see any improvement
To date, 80,481 have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Denmark, and 837 of them have died from the virus.
259 corona-infected are now hospitalized in Denmark. 44 of them are in the intensive care unit and 28 are connected to a ventilator.
Åsa Bengård Andersen, chief physician at the Rigshospitalet infection clinic, is concerned.
– I still don’t see any improvement. I’m a little concerned that there aren’t any cases to track in the parameters we follow, he says.
Therefore, Andersen believes that even stricter infection restrictions can be introduced.
Also read: The WHO summit asks Europe to think carefully before Christmas
It can become more normal in Norway
It’s not just Denmark that you may need to enhance a slightly different Christmas celebration. During this week, Health Minister Bent Høie is expected to give clear advice on how to celebrate Christmas in Norway.
– There are tips on how to plan a Christmas party, how many people you can invite and the kinds of questions that many want to answer. You cannot be notified a week before Christmas. That’s why we want to give that advice, says Høie in an interview with NRK.
In recent days, the increase in infection in Norway has started to stabilize. That may be good news.
– It also increases the possibility that Christmas is more than normal. When we introduced these measures, my great concern was that at Christmas we would have many people hospitalized. And many who sat at home and were worried about their own, says the Minister of Health.