Canadians urged to get booster jabs as Omicron concerns grow; Denmark seeks to close public venues to curb COVID spread
The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Friday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
9:13 a.m. Denmark’s prime minister said Friday that his government is moving to close theaters, cinemas, concert halls, amusement parks, museums and art galleries as part of new restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen Frederiksen said the proposed measures also would require stores smaller than 2,000 square meters (21,528 square feet) and restaurants to limit their number of customers. Restaurants would have to serve their last meals and alcoholic beverages at 10 p.m. and close at 11 p.m.
The Danish government is advising residents to limit social contacts over the Christmas holidays.
“We are not talking about shutting down the whole country as we did last year,” Frederiksen said. “Our goal is still to keep as large sections of society open as possible. We need to curb activity. We all need to limit our social contacts.”
The shutdown order requires parliamentary approval. Lawmakers on the 21-member Epidemic Committee were scheduled to meet Friday afternoon.
Denmark currently requires face masks on public transportation and in shops. The government wants to extend the mask mandate to include educational institutions and places of worship.
Like many other European countries, Denmark is seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases, with health authorities saying the number of infections and hospitalizations has risen faster than expected.
