There’s some good news for countries just beginning to reopen schools.

Their European counterparts — such as Denmark, Austria and Germany — that began sending children back to classrooms in April and early May, haven’t seen significant increases in new cases. And experts are cautiously optimistic that sending children back to school may be relatively safe.

But it’s early days yet. Incremental returns to school and robust infection control measures have been part of the game plan in those countries that have reopened classrooms successfully. With big questions around the virus still hanging in the air, some experts are issuing plenty of caveats.

The exemplar is Denmark, where the first children began returning in mid-April, when the country had just under 200 new cases a day. As of June 8, Denmark had just 14 daily new cases. And while the reproduction rate of the virus increased after the country began reopening, it has since dropped.

The head of experimental virology at Copenhagen University’s Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Allan Randrup Thomsen, was initially hesitant about the move. But now he notes that, since reopening, there “hasn’t been any effect that we can see.”

In fact, the statistical models predicted there would be more spreading than was actually observed, according to Søren Riis Paludan, professor in virology at Aarhus University. The puzzle is why that didn't happen.

“Opening the schools has really not been translated into any imprint in the transmission numbers,” he said.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/10/european-school-reopeningsreduce-virus-concerns-for-most-312595

HELP US SPREAD GOOD NEWS!

I run this site in my spare time and thoroughly enjoy giving you all positive news!  If you've enjoyed the site we'd love for you to help me share the good news far and wide, share us on Reddit, your Facebook or your Twitter and spread a little positivity around.

A vaccine against COVID-19, developed by researchers from the University of Copenhagen, has been tested in mice and shows promising results.

A team of researchers from the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Copenhagen have reached an important milestone in their efforts to develop a virus against COVID-19. They have spent the past two months testing the vaccine in mice and the results are promising, the researchers say.

“We have tested the vaccine in mice and achieved positive immune responses. It is an important step on the way. It is vital we are able to present these results, because it means we can continue as planned. Without these results we would not have been able to proceed,” says Professor Ali Salanti.

https://nordiclifescience.org/danish-coronavirus-vaccine-passes-test-in-mice/

HELP US SPREAD GOOD NEWS!

I run this site in my spare time and thoroughly enjoy giving you all positive news!  If you've enjoyed the site we'd love for you to help me share the good news far and wide, share us on Reddit, your Facebook or your Twitter and spread a little positivity around.

Denmark, the first country in Europe to relax its coronavirus lockdown said on Wednesday that the spread of Covid-19 has not accelerated since it eased restrictions and began the second phase of reopening society last month.

"The level of contagion in society is still very low," the Danish health authority said in a report in Wednesday, according to Reuters news agency.

It added that the number of confirmed new infections had continued to fall despite more tests being carried out.

In April Denmark became the first country to reopen its schools and daycare centres and the following month bars and restaurants and shopping centres were allowed to resume business.

"There is no sign yet of noticeable changes in the extent of contagion despite the gradual reopening of society in April and early May," the report said.

https://www.thelocal.dk/20200610/denmark-says-easing-lockdown-has-not-increased-infections

HELP US SPREAD GOOD NEWS!

I run this site in my spare time and thoroughly enjoy giving you all positive news!  If you've enjoyed the site we'd love for you to help me share the good news far and wide, share us on Reddit, your Facebook or your Twitter and spread a little positivity around.

Sending children back to schools and day care centres in Denmark, the first country in Europe to do so, did not lead to an increase in coronavirus infections, according to official data, confirming similar findings from Finland on Thursday.

As countries across Europe make plans to exit months of lockdown aimed at curbing the virus outbreak, some parents worry that opening schools first might put the health of their children in danger.

Following a one-month lockdown, Denmark allowed children between two to 12 years back in day cares and schools on April 15. Based on five weeks’ worth of data, health authorities are now for the first time saying the move did not make the virus proliferate.

“You cannot see any negative effects from the reopening of schools,” Peter Andersen, doctor of infectious disease epidemiology and prevention at the Danish Serum Institute said on Thursday told Reuters.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-denmark-reopening/reopening-schools-in-denmark-did-not-worsen-outbreak-data-shows-idUSKBN2341N7

HELP US SPREAD GOOD NEWS!

I run this site in my spare time and thoroughly enjoy giving you all positive news!  If you've enjoyed the site we'd love for you to help me share the good news far and wide, share us on Reddit, your Facebook or your Twitter and spread a little positivity around.

Nobody infected with the Coronavirus have died in the last 24 hours in Denmark, according to the new figures from Statens Serum Institut.

It's the second day in a row - and the third time this week that no corona deaths have been recorded at home.

Thus, the death toll remains at 561.

https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/anden-dag-i-traek-uden-corona-doedsfald-i-danmark

HELP US SPREAD GOOD NEWS!

I run this site in my spare time and thoroughly enjoy giving you all positive news!  If you've enjoyed the site we'd love for you to help me share the good news far and wide, share us on Reddit, your Facebook or your Twitter and spread a little positivity around.

After the first reopening of Denmark, the expert group is still trying to find answers to the spread of the coronavirus.

It is still unclear why increased infection activity is still not recorded 4-4.5 weeks after the first reopening of Denmark. We do not know whether this is due to high compliance with physical distance and hygiene advice, or whether it is possibly due to biological conditions, such as weakening of virulence (ie disease-causing by infection, ed.) Or infectiousness by virus, it sounds.

https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2020-05-20-ssi-vi-forstaar-ikke-hvorfor-der-ikke-er-flere-smittede

HELP US SPREAD GOOD NEWS!

I run this site in my spare time and thoroughly enjoy giving you all positive news!  If you've enjoyed the site we'd love for you to help me share the good news far and wide, share us on Reddit, your Facebook or your Twitter and spread a little positivity around.

Denmark is “very unlikely” to be hit by a second wave of coronavirus, the country’s chief epidemiologist said on Tuesday, after the government laid out plans for increased testing and a contact tracing system.

The Nordic country, which has 533 coronavirus-related deaths, was the first in Europe to relax its coronavirus lockdown almost a month ago. The infection rate and the number of deaths have continued to drop.

“No country has seen an actual second wave yet. Some countries have seen the spread go up and down,” state epidemiologist Kare Molbak said at a news briefing.

“But with the knowledge we have today, I find it very unlikely that we’ll see second wave,” he said.

To prevent a second wave, health authorities will begin more actively tracking people who may have been in contact with infected people and if necessary put some in isolation in empty hotels, she said.

“We need to isolate the sick, so we can break the infection chains without having to close down society again,” she said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-denmark/second-virus-wave-very-unlikely-in-denmark-says-expert-idUSKBN22O15L

HELP US SPREAD GOOD NEWS!

I run this site in my spare time and thoroughly enjoy giving you all positive news!  If you've enjoyed the site we'd love for you to help me share the good news far and wide, share us on Reddit, your Facebook or your Twitter and spread a little positivity around.

Denmark and the Czech Republic have said partially easing their lockdowns has not led to a surge in new coronavirus infections, as the WHO continued to urge extreme caution and Germany relaxed some restrictions but extended others.

As EU governments grappled with the complex and conflicting imperatives of easing the lockdowns crippling their economies while avoiding a disastrous second wave of infections, meanwhile, South Korea reported no new cases for the first time.

Of the 44 European countries to have imposed restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, 21 had started easing some of them and a further 11 were planning to do so soon, said Hans Kluge, regional director of the World Health Organization in Europe.

In Denmark, daycare facilities and schools began reopening two weeks ago, followed by hairdressers and other small businesses on 20 April.

“There are no signs at all that the partial reopening has caused a bigger spread of infection,” said Christian Wejse, a scientist at the department of infectious diseases at Aarhus University. “At least there is no indication that we are heading into another wave. That has been the concern, but I can’t see that at all.”

The Czech health minister, Adam Vojtěch, said the country’s number of new cases had been below 100 for the past eight consecutive days and also reported that a staggered reopening of shops and services had not so far led to a surge in infections.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/30/danes-and-czechs-say-easing-lockdowns-has-produced-no-covid-19-surge

HELP US SPREAD GOOD NEWS!

I run this site in my spare time and thoroughly enjoy giving you all positive news!  If you've enjoyed the site we'd love for you to help me share the good news far and wide, share us on Reddit, your Facebook or your Twitter and spread a little positivity around.

Denmark began reopening schools for younger children on Wednesday after a month-long closure to combat the novel coronavirus, becoming the first country in Europe to do so.

Nurseries, kindergartens and primary schools were restarting after they were officially closed on March 17 in an effort to curb the COVID-19 epidemic, though many had shut before then.

However classes are only resuming in about half of Denmark's municipalities and in about 35 percent of Copenhagen's schools, as others have requested more time to adjust to health protocols. All are expected to reopen by April 20.

https://www.ibtimes.com/danish-schools-begin-reopening-after-month-long-closure-2958964