On June 6, a passenger plane from Pakistan landed at Copenhagen Airport with 318 passengers. Subsequently, it turned out that several passengers on board were infected with coronavirus, and since then the authorities have tried to contain the infection and detect all contacts.
The Danish Patient Safety Board announced in a press release on Thursday that 18 cases of infection related to the flight departure have been identified.
»Of the 18 infected, 16 were on board the aircraft, while two people were close contacts who were subsequently tested positive but who were not on board. Four people are believed to have been contagious at the time they were on board the aircraft, ”the board writes.
The Board states that all relevant persons for the outbreak have been contacted already, but it cannot be ruled out that the number of infections related to the flight departure will increase further.
“The case clearly illustrates that it is incredibly important that we continue to look after ourselves and each other by following the recommendations to keep distance, have good hygiene and let us test,” says Anette Lykke Petri, chief medical officer and chief executive officer of The Danish Patient Safety Board, in the press release.
When Health Minister Magnus Heunicke on Tuesday held a press conference on the corona situation in Denmark, he identified three ongoing outbreaks around the country.
- The departure from Pakistan
- The Black Lives Matter demonstration in Copenhagen on June 7
- The local outbreak in Hjørring
For the time being, authorities have only stated that one person who was infected participated in the BLM demonstration on June 7. The authorities, however, have a strong focus on this case, as around 15,000 people are estimated to have participated in the demonstration, and several thousand of these participants – among them infected – came close to each other and shouted slogans.
The outbreak in Hjørring is particularly related to the municipality’s elderly care and especially the Vendelbo Center in Sindal. Here, 14 residents and 22 employees have tested positive for the virus, while additional employees have returned home with symptoms.
The infection has also spread further in the community, and at three schools in the municipality as well as a school in the neighboring municipality Frederikshavn, several school classes and teachers have been repatriated after children have been infected.
At the press conference, Magnus Heunicke stated that the three outbreaks have not given rise to any considerations of rolling back parts of the reopening. However, caution was called for.
‘It is expected that the disease will flare up. We are dealing with a very, very contagious disease. What has to do with whether we get a second wave is whether society and the Danes make every effort to comply with the recommendations, ”he stated.
Source: jyllands-posten.dk
