Despite witnessing some of the highest Covid-19 infection rates worldwide, people in Denmark are now enjoying life in a way that might have seemed inconceivable just a few months ago, reports ABC News.
And, no wonder they are seen drinking in crowded bars, hugging their loved ones and ditching their masks— something considered reckless and selfish during the global pandemic.
The transition to the post-Covid life came as the Danish government earlier this month decided Covid-19 was no longer a "socially critical disease", scrapping all restrictions.
Danes are now not even legally required to quarantine. However, officials are also strongly encouraging people to use masks in hospitals and in aged care facilities, while staff are offered regular testing.
The move came into effect February 1 even though a new subvariant of Omicron, BA.2, was gaining a foothold in Denmark and driving infections up.
The Scandinavian nation does boast a high Covid-19 vaccination rate, with 80.9% of eligible citizens double vaccinated and 60.9 % receiving three doses.
Interestingly, this is the second time Danes witnessed the Covid curbs being lifted.
Denmark had revoked almost all of its Covid-19 restrictions in September, with the country's health minister declaring "the epidemic is under control".
Not long after, the country was reinstating them again.
Roaming freely
On an outdoor ice-rink in central Copenhagen, Julie Lindholm and her daughter, Anna, enjoyed their new-found freedoms as they skated with dozens of others on a clear-blue afternoon.
Lindholm said lockdowns and restrictions made her realise how much she took for granted and she was "grateful" they were gone.
"I love it. Suddenly we can all be together and go skating without being afraid of each other", she said.
Lindholm said she knew the rest of the world was watching her country's approach closely.
"I understand why people … are worried. I was very worried to begin with," she said.
'But … we all we did as the government told us to do. We all got the vaccine."
While Denmark has been one of the first EU countries to move toward unwinding all Covid-19 restrictions, its attitude towards the virus has not always been so relaxed.
A new way of thinking
Denmark was among the first countries in the world to implement a lockdown, in March 2020, amid the rapid spread of Covid-19.
It also invested heavily in genomic sequencing to track new variants like the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, which is now dominant in Denmark and even more transmissible than the original strain.
And when the Omicron variant began spreading rapidly last year, Denmark reimposed restrictions on workplaces, hospitality and schools in December.
But Tyra Grove Krause, the chief epidemiologist at Denmark's State Serum Institute, said it also sparked a major rethink in the country's approach to Covid-19.
"It's not so serious anymore," she told the ABC.
"First of all, we have a very high vaccination coverage in Denmark. We also have the extensive transmission with the variant that has proven to be less severe, compared to the previous variants," Krause said.
The Omicron wave triggered a massive spike in cases in the country, with Denmark currently recording one of the highest daily rates of Covid-19 in the world.
The latest figures show a daily rate in Denmark of 7,370 cases per 1 million people, according to Our World in Data.
Despite the surge in case numbers, the pressure on Denmark's intensive care units has eased.
Omicron behind post-Covid life?
Krause said a crucial link had been broken between case numbers and serious illness.
"We see a decoupling of the number of cases and then the number of severely ill patients that need hospital care. That's very clear," Krause said.
"The strategy has, all the way through, been not to put more restrictions on the population than is actually needed to control the epidemic. And right now, the numbers look quite good."
Covid-related deaths have been rising in Denmark, reaching a seven-day rolling average of 23 per day.
Krause said that, when so many people were infected, neither the hospital admission figures nor the death statistics painted the full picture.
"We have estimated … about one-third of the Covid-19 related deaths that are reported now may just be due to people dying with a positive test and not because of Covid-19," she said.
Yet, despite the high number of cases and rising Covid-19 deaths, there seems to be significant community support for the lifting of restrictions.