Denmark imposes new restrictions to curb coronavirus spike

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark will lower the limit on public gatherings to 50 people from 100 and order bars and restaurants to close early to curb a rise in new COVID-19 infections, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Friday.

Denmark has seen daily infections rise in recent weeks after relaxing lockdown measures imposed between March and May.

In the last 24 hours, 454 new coronavirus infections have been registered in Denmark, close to an April record of 473.

The reproduction rate, which indicates how many people one infected person on average transmits the virus to, is at 1.5 across the country, Frederiksen said.

Bars and restaurants will have to close at 10 P.M. Both measures will take effect from Saturday, Sept. 19 and last until Oct. 4.

"At present, the restrictions are not comprehensive enough to send the Danish economy backwards," Sydbank economist Soren Kristensen said in a note.

"However, it will affect the Danish economy and so we might see the recovery losing further momentum."

(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard; Editing by Toby Chopra and Janet Lawrence)