Prime Minister Met Frazerriksen, who was in quarantine, issued a “mink killing order” online, demanding the killing of all mink in Danish farms. The number is about 15 to 17 million.
When the news came out, the whole world was shocked. What happened? How could it be so serious that “killing the whole country”?
Denmark in my impression
In our impression, Denmark is a country full of temperature.
Earlier, Prime Minister Met Frazerriksen spoke in Parliament that the government plans to spend about 11.59 million yuan to buy the last four circus elephants in Denmark to provide for them. At the same time, he also bought a good friend of elephants, a camel named Ali.
The other side of the denial
On the other hand, Denmark is one of the largest mink exporters in the world. In 2019, the value of Danish mink exports was about 5.16 billion yuan, and mink is Denmark’s fourth largest export agricultural product. It is conceivable that for such a scale of mink farming and leather clothing production, Denmark will of course be the target of the world’s major animal welfare organizations.
Under this epidemic, Denmark will euthanize all minks with carbon dioxide before November 16. The large number has caused the incinerators to have insufficient processing capacity, and the dead bodies will be disposed of in landfills.
The “ruthlessness” of his shot is surprising.
You must know that this is not the first outbreak of an outbreak in a mink farm in a European country.
In June, a new crown pneumonia epidemic broke out in a mink farm in the Netherlands, and tens of thousands of mink were culled. In July, a case was found in a farm in Aragon, Spain, and 100,000 minks were culled.
However, none of these countries has achieved such “decisiveness” as Denmark. What’s more, the largest hunting plan in this history may bring “the disaster” to the entire Danish industrial chain.
In the end what happened? What facts are we missing?
After reading the detailed timeline, you will know that the so-called “relentless or not” depends on what kind of reality you are facing.
- Timeline truth
- June 17
- In Denmark, 34 minks were found to be infected. This is the first time that the new coronavirus has been detected in a mink farm. A total of 11,000 minks were killed on the farm.
- June 18
- The first case of a Danish mink farmer was confirmed.
- July 1
- The third infected mink farm was found in Denmark . More than 50% of minks were infected, and about 5,000 minks were killed.
- August 14
- The fourth infected mink farm appeared in Denmark . However, the only requirement for epidemic prevention at that time was that visitors must wear masks, shower and disinfect clothes afterwards.
- September 2
- The sixth infected mink farm appeared in Denmark .
- September 4
The Danish Serum Institute reported that the “mink mutant virus” was found to be transmitted from mink to human in 3 farms . This is a landmark discovery.
The Danish Serum Institute and the University of Copenhagen have written an epidemiological report that this mutant virus “may cause weakening of herd immunity.” And believes that there is evidence that the mink mutant virus has formed a chain of human transmission infection.
October 1
The Danish Serum Institute held a press conference and believed that the current risk of infection for mink breeders is higher than that of medical staff.
The Danish government admitted that the previous measures were not sufficient to deal with the outbreak in the farms and decided to change the policy to kill all infected minks. The policy involved about one million mink, 41 infected and 20 suspected infected farms.
October 12
A total of 76 mink farms in Denmark were infected. The government recommends that mink farmers be tested once a week because it seems that mink is particularly susceptible to the new crown, and the farm may develop into a “virus factory.”
October 13
More than 150 people in the Danish mink farm were diagnosed.
October 29
Danish media reported that the epidemic spread at lightning speed in the farms, but the path of transmission is not clear. The University of Copenhagen is studying seagulls, and the new crown virus has been detected in a seagull. On this day, the government required people to wear masks in public places and further restricted gatherings of more than 10 people.
November 3
The Danish Serum Institute issued a risk assessment that “continuing mink breeding during the epidemic will bring major risks to public health”, including “affecting the effectiveness of the vaccine”. The Danish Serological Institute’s attitude is “rather than waiting for evidence, it’s better to act immediately. “.
November 4
The Prime Minister issued a national “mink killing order” because “the Danish Serum Institute found from the samples of 12 new crown patients from 5 mink farms that humans have reduced sensitivity to mutant viruses.” Denmark is facing an “extremely serious situation” “, “It may bring devastating consequences to the entire world’s epidemic.”
“We have a great responsibility for our own population, but with the mutations currently discovered, we also have a greater responsibility for the rest of the world.”
At this time, 207 mink farms have been infected in Denmark .
Is the Danish action fast enough? See what it compares to.
Compared with the perfect situation, in fact, two months have passed since the Diao Chuan was discovered on September 4, and the “killing mink order” was issued on November 4.
△Denmark infected farm is in the area
But what is certain is that Denmark is determined to kill the mink this time. Closing the city is also a real thing.
Serious closure of the city
△Image source: Danish Radio and Television (DR) Red is the closed city area
This time the closure of the city involved a total of 7 cities. Not only restaurants, bars, cultural and sports facilities, but also schools were closed, and even public transportation within and between cities was stopped.
Such a strict degree of lockdown can be said to be rare in Europe. The blockade will last until December 3.
This is also the first time Denmark has closed the city since the outbreak of the epidemic this year.
Why is the mink mutant new coronavirus particularly worthy of vigilance?
Kåre Mølbak, an expert at the Danish Serum Institute, said that viruses entering different biological systems can cause different types of virus mutations. So although the new coronavirus has mutated many times before, it is prone to problems when it is transmitted from animals to humans.
At present, Denmark has discovered 5 different mink mutant new coronaviruses, namely cluster 1-cluster 5. Preliminary studies have shown that the mutation of “cluster 1” is not bad, and the most worrying is “cluster 5”, which is less sensitive to antibodies, which means that it may affect the vaccine effect. And whether “cluster 2” to “cluster 4” mutated viruses will also be “cluster 5”, it will take at least a few weeks to study.
The WHO stated on November 6 that it had noticed the spread of the new crown virus in mink a few months ago. Maria van Kokhov, the technical director of the WHO health emergency project, said that some mutations in the new crown virus carried by the Danish mink , May have an impact, but further research is needed.
The latest statement by Hans, Director of the WHO European Office, at the press conference on November 7 is, “Mutated viruses have also been found in other countries, such as Spain, the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden. However, this is not the same as what we saw in Denmark. The variants are different.” He said that he didn’t know the seriousness of the threat of the “cluster 5” variant virus, but he thought it was better to be cautious than regret afterwards.
Currently, the mutated virus samples are only from northern Denmark. Denmark has begun to test 280,000 people in 7 cities, and compare all positive samples with “cluster 5.” The Danish Minister of Health said that it is not yet certain whether the mutant virus has spread to other parts of the country.
