Omicron-infected concertgoer exposes some 2,000 to threat
Tickets for a music concert are now a pass for immediate, line-skipping access to a PCR test for hundreds of people in Denmark, after at least one of the attendees was confirmed to have been infected with the new Covid-19 variant.
The fifth and latest case of the Omicron strain in the European country was registered on Wednesday, the Danish Patient Safety Authority announced. The infected person had attended a concert by popular Danish DJ and ‘X Factor’ judge Martin Jensen during the previous weekend.
On Saturday, some 1,600 concertgoers gathered at the Congress and Culture Center in Aalborg, in the country’s north. Another event for around 400 people took place at the same time in an adjoining space at the center, and after the concert ended, all 2,000 people mixed in the foyer for an afterparty.
Before the concert, crowds accumulated by the venue, as everyone was asked to show a valid coronavirus pass proving vaccination, recovery from Covid, or a negative PCR test to be allowed to attend.
The director of the venue told the media that it had “followed the authorities’ guidelines” on the anti-coronavirus measures. The DJ also commented to the media, saying “it is very unfortunate that infection has been found anyway.”
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The venue urged everyone who visited it on Saturday to take a PCR test, TV2 Nord news reported. Concertgoers can show tickets at test venues in Aalborg to be checked without an appointment. However, no self-isolation has been requested, with the warning only asking those who experience any symptoms of the illness to avoid further contacts.
The earlier cases of the new Omicron variant confirmed in Denmark were found in patients who had traveled to South Africa, according to health officials. The infected concertgoer also traveled before the event, they said, without providing any more details.
