Denmark on Friday defended its decision to kill millions of minks even after the World Health Organization played down fears of a mutated coronavirus strain, whose discovery precipitated the move.

"All remaining mink will now be culled including non-infected and otherwise healthy mink," Denmark's Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said in a press conference.

"We would rather go a step too far than take a step too little to combat Covid-19," he said, adding that the Scandinavian country had not overreacted nor taken the decision lightly.

As of Thursday, 216 mink farms in the country were infected with coronavirus and all remaining minks would be culled in line with animal welfare guidelines in the coming weeks, Danish health officials said. Denmark has a total of around 300 mink farms, according to officials.