Denmark will end most pandemic restrictions, effective Feb 1, 2022

"We say goodbye to the restrictions and welcome the life we knew before. As of Feb. 1, Denmark will be open," iterated Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark.

"It may seem strange that we want to remove restrictions given the high infection rates,” she said. “But fewer people become seriously ill," Frederiksen continued. In fact, the country of nearly 6 million people only has 40 people currently in the ICU with COVID as of the time of this writing.

According to the Associated Press, "Denmark currently requires face masks on public transportation, in shops, for standing clients in restaurant indoor areas, and for people entering hospitals, health care facilities and retirement homes."

"As of Feb. 1, the government will only recommend mask use in hospitals, health care facilities and homes for the elderly."

Ironically, Denmark was one of the first countries to lock down back at the start of the pandemic in 2020, closing down all schools and requiring all public employees to work from home whenever it was at all possible.

They also famously were responsible for producing the first European "vaccine passport" app.

In October, the country, however, suspended the use of the Moderna vaccine for young people, after concerns arose about potential complications such as myocarditis.