Prime minister Mette Frederiksen holds a press conference on COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak in, Copenhagen, Denmark

Denmark’s Prime Minister has announced that the country will close all kindergartens, schools and universities for two weeks to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

At a press conference on Wednesday evening, PM Mette Frederiksen said public sector employees who do not perform critical functions will be sent home on paid leave, while those in the private sector will be encouraged to work from home as much as possible.

Indoor events with 100 or more participants will also be been banned as part of the tough new measures being introduced from Monday, according to local media reports.

There have been no deaths from coronavirus in Denmark, but the number of cases is rising rapidly.


Prime minister Mette Frederiksen said the consequences of waiting would be ffar worse than imposing a lockdown now (Picture: Rex)

Frederiksen said: ‘This will have huge consequences, but the alternative would be far worse.



‘Under normal circumstances, a government would not present such far-reaching measures without having all the solutions ready for the many Danes concerned, but we are in an extraordinary situation.’

The dramatic decision comes after the Danish Patient Safety Authority reported 442 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday evening, bringing the number of people in quarantine to 1,303.

Director Søren Brostrøm said that he expected the number of cases to increase even more rapidly in the coming days and weeks, after the World Health Organisation officially declared it a pandemic.

A tent serves as a drive through corona testing facility at Aarhus University Hospital in Aarhus, Denmark (Picture: AFP)

He told local media: ‘It is not only a threat for Denmark, but for the whole world. That is why the WHO has today declared Covid-19 to be a pandemic’.

Measures to soften the blow of the country’s lockdown are expected to be introduced in due course. Authorities have already agreed to around $20 billion (£15.6) in tax breaks to help companies cope with the fallout of the virus.

‘We need to limit activity in society as much as possible, without letting our society grind to a halt’ Frederiksen said.

Denmark is the second country in Europe to impose strict lockdown measures, following in the footsteps of Italy where unprecedented travel and social restrictions took effect this week.

The empty Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome amid Italy’s coronavirus lockdown (Picture: Andrea Ronchini/NurPhoto)



Tonight the Italian government said the nation needed to go ‘another step further’ after imposing a country-wide quarantine, closing all shops except food stores and pharmacies.

The extra measures came after the country’s death toll rose by 196 – its largest day-on-day increase.

Schools, nurseries, universities, museums and cinemas across the nation have already been shut down, while the Italian football league have cancelled all their matches.Public gatherings, including at weddings, funerals or religious events, are also banned from taking place

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The UK government has faced pressure to introduce curbs similar to other nations.

Giving a statement this evening Health Secretary Matt Hancock said an emergency bill would be passed through the Commons next week, but did not specify what measures that could include.

Another 83 people tested positive for coronavirus in the UK today, while the death toll rose by two. There have been 456 cases and 8 deaths from covid-19, sparking fears the government is not acting quick enough to contain the disease.

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