Denmark's government on Tuesday announced the extension of a temporary closure of all shopping venues until mid January to stem the coronavirus pandemic.
People were also advised to scale back their New Year's celebrations and limit their social contacts to a minimum.
"In our eyes, it is not right that a New Year's celebration means that even more infection is spread," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.
Frederiksen - flanked by among others the health minister, the heads of the State Serum Institute (SSI) and the Public Health Agency - cautioned that "the situation with infection rates and hospitalizations is more serious now than it was in the spring."
The country of 5.8 million people has so far recorded about 158,000 coronavirus cases and 1,226 Covid-19 related deaths.
Shopping malls have been closed since December 17.
Other shops - with the exception of pharmacies, grocery stores and supermarkets - have been closed since December 25.
The closures were extended from January 3 to January 17, the government said.
Hairdressers, physiotherapists and driving schools were to remain closed, and school children in lower grades were also to stay at home until January 17.
Take-away
Bars, cafes, restaurants across the whole country are limited to take-away offers.
In addition, theatres, cinemas, museums and zoos as well as gyms, swimming pools and sports centres remain closed.
"The sacrifices we make in our social lives now are absolutely crucial for us to break the chains of infection and save human lives," Frederiksen said.
In the whole of Denmark, public meetings have been limited to at most 10 people for some time.
Public employees were advised to work remotely.
