COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Four weeks after Denmark began easing its lockdown, Danes on Monday returned to cafes and restaurants, confident that the coronavirus outbreak is under control.

Denmark last month became the first country in Europe to reopen schools, day-care centres and smaller businesses. It did not see a subsequent rise in COVID-19 cases.

“The quick shutdown and the fact that Danes actually listened to messages from authorities about good hygiene and social distancing are the main reasons we’ve come this far,” said Hans Jorn Kolmos, a professor in clinical microbiology at the University of Southern Denmark.

Contrary to the French and Italians, Danes are less likely to hug and kiss as a form of greeting, which has also been a factor in limiting the spread, Kolmos said.

Coronavirus-related deaths and the ‘R’ reproduction rate - a measure of transmission - are falling. Health authorities on Friday reported no deaths for the first time since March 13.

Health experts now say Denmark is “very unlikely” to be hit by a second wave of the COVID-19 infection that has so far killed 548 people.

With a population of only 5.8 million, the death rate in Denmark is on par with that of Germany with around nine per 100,000 - less than most other European countries, including 36 in neighbouring Sweden, 33 in the Netherlands and 52 in both Britain and Italy.

The results have been achieved without mass testing and contact tracing. Denmark has not recommended the use of face-coverings, as many other countries have.

Early in the outbreak, Denmark shied away from a comprehensive testing and tracing scheme, partly due to a shortage of testing kits, despite calls from the World Health Organization to ramp up testing.

Danish authorities began testing more broadly only in late-April and said last week they would start a tracing scheme.

Denmark was one of the first European countries to announce a lockdown on March 11, restricting public gatherings and closing schools, restaurants and bars, but imposing less strict limits on daily life than in Italy or France.