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Denmark needs 250 billion kroner to tackle coronavirus havoc

Christian Wenande
April 16th, 2020


This article is more than 4 years old.

While the funds for the country’s ambitious crisis aid packages will be needed by July, the Danes are in a good position according to the National Bank

It’s time to bust open that piggy bank (photo: Pixabay)

  • With Denmark in lockdown and the country’s economy staring down the gaping maw of uncertainty, the government passed a series of massive packages over the past weeks in a bid to help companies, employees and entrepreneurs survive the coronavirus crisis.

Well, pretty soon it’ll be time to pay up. And it ain’t no pittance. 

In order to finance all the grand packages, the state will need to come up with a whopping 250 billion kroner by July, according to a report from the National Bank.

READ ALSO: Space issue in institutions forces Copenhagen to look outside the box

Look good for now
The good news is that, according to the report, Denmark is in a good position to scrape those funds together. 

Low state debt, healthy public finances and a top rating with the big international credit rating agencies will help Denmark on its way. 

And that’s a good thing, because the National Bank expects the Danes will be required to loan at least half of the total amount.

The state has 130 billion kroner in the National Bank, and it could also drum up some of the funds by issuing government bonds and treasury bills.

But whatever the state decides to do, Denmark seems in good shape to tackle the crisis from an economic perspective … at least for now. 


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”