Denmark's coronavirus epidemic is 'more 'stable', health minister says

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The coronavirus epidemic in Denmark is showing signs of stabilising, the country's health minister said on Tuesday, citing vaccinations and third jabs as possible causes.

"The reproduction number is calculated to 1. Other key figures such as incidence, positivity rate, etc. suggest that infection growth is slowing and that we have a more stable epidemic," health minister Magnus Heunicke said on Twitter.

The reproduction number is a measure of how many people on average one infected person transmits the virus to. A value of one means the epidemic is neither accelerating nor slowing.

"(It) could among other things be due to immunity from vaccinations and revaccinations, as one in seven 12+ year olds has now received a 3rd shot."

More than 75% of the population has been vaccinated in the Nordic country, with 13.5% receiving a booster shot.

Denmark has recorded record levels of more than 4000 daily COVID-19 infections in recent weeks from a low of around 200 in mid-September, but the country has so far avoided imposing tough lockdown restrictions.

(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)