Denmark is establishing a new government agency to prepare for future epidemics or another wave of the coronavirus.
It will be part of the Ministry of Justice – not a health agency.
The agency should be up and running by August, in time to address another potential wave of Covid-19 or a future epidemic. It will be responsible for the supply and storage of enough protective equipment, testing and testing facilities, epidemic-related infrastructure, cooperation between private and public sectors, and so forth.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen made the announcement at a press conference today, saying that this will help public health authorities focus on their core task of taking care of people. “What we understand now is that what started as a health challenge became a challenge for the entire society,” she said.
The announcement comes a day after Danish health authorities shifted their guidance on what is a safe distance, from two meters down to one meter.
“They will focus on practical issues, logistics and societal preparedness,” said the prime minister. “They are an operative muscle that will ensure that strategies and initiatives can be carried out quickly and effectively.”
“We view protective equipment as critical infrastructure and we must be better prepared if there is a new wave of corona or an entirely new epidemic,” she said.
