(Credit: Københavns Kommune)

The Government of Denmark has officially announced that it has extended its hard lockdown until Jan. 17, 2021, with additional strict new measures.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that a more severe lockdown was required to bring the virus under control. “Let me say this very clearly, the situation with infections and hospitalizations is more serious now than it was in the spring,” stated Frederiksen.

The base reproduction number R currently stands at 1.2. Frederiksen pointed out that Denmark could get on the so-called “red curve,” when the health service becomes overwhelmed.

As a result, all non-essential shops will be closed and everyone except essential workers must work from home. Restaurants, bars, cinemas, theaters and opera houses will also remain closed.

Denmark is currently going through a second COVID-19 wave, with new daily peak of infections reaching 2,783 on Dec. 30, 2020.