Denmark announces lockdown after COVID-19 outbreak in mink farms

The Danish government has imposed a tougher lockdown in parts of the country where a new strain of coronavirus was discovered in minks population. The mutated version of COVID-19 was detected at mink farms in Denmark's North Jutland region, following which authorities had ordered the culling of the animals. The lockdown in the region was announced on Thursday, November 5, and is expected to last until the first week of December. 

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Lockdown imposed

The Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced the closure of schools and public transport, where most of these affected mink farms are located, encouraging people to stay where they are and get tested. According to reports, 17 million minks will be culled as a result of the latest discovery. The mink skin industry is one of the biggest contributors to Denmark's economy as it is the country's third-biggest agricultural export. Earlier this year, over 1 million minks were culled after COVID-19 cases were reported from and around 400 farms in Denmark. 

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Earlier, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had informed that it is in touch with Danish officials over the new mutated version of COVID-19 discovered in the country. WHO also informed that several cases of animal-to-human transmission have been reported in the region and it could impact the effectiveness of the ongoing vaccine development programmes being carried out across the globe. 

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This is not the first time when COVID-19 cases have been detected in minks. Earlier, mink farms in Spain and the Netherlands also reported COVID cases among animals and staff members. Officials in both countries also opted for the culling of the mink population at farms, where the cases were detected in order to prevent further animal-to-human transmissions.  

Read: WHO In Touch With Denmark Authorities Over New Strain Of COVID-19 Detected In Minks