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Business Round-Up: Coronavirus the equivalent of every Dane losing 33,000 kroner in 2020

Roselyne Min
April 21st, 2020


This article is more than 4 years old.

Elsewhere, Norwegian is paying through the nose and house sellers are struggling like never before

Come on, hand it over (photo: Pixabay/ASSY)

New calculations from the Danske Industri indicate the loss caused by the Coronavirus Crisis could be more than 190 billion kroner – the equivalent of 8.3 percent of the Danish GDP.

If the loss is passed on to every Dane evenly, the number rounds up 33,000 kroner per person this year alone.

DI’s estimate has risen approximately 25 percent from 155 billion kroner, its prediction four weeks ago.


Norwegian declares its Danish subsidiaries bankrupt
Norwegian Air has filed for bankruptcy at its three Danish subsidiaries, check-in.dk reports. Despite access to Danish relief packages and overall cost reductions, the payroll of the airline’s pilots and cabin crew was just too burdensome to the company. According to the CEO of the airline,Norway has a better wage compensation scheme than Denmark and Sweden, where another of its subsidiaries has been declared bankrupt. In Denmark, 614 employees will lose their jobs as a result of the bankruptcy.

US looking to support Greenland financially
The United States is “preparing a substantial package of financial support” for Greenland, according to an article on Altinget written by Carla Sands, the US ambassador to Denmark. The financial support is earmarked for “renewable energy for growth in Greenland”. However, Danish MP Christoffer Melson, a Venstre representative on Parliament’s Greenland committee, is unsure the support can be accepted. “Greenland desires to attract business investment and develop the economy, but it is up to what extent one will enter into cooperation,” he told DR.

Free hand-sanitiser for teachers and pedagogues
In light of the reopening of some kindergartens and schools, Matas is offering 100,000 bottles of free hand-sanitiser to returning workers. Previously, Matas had a short supply, but now its shelves are full again. As of April 27, teachers can go to one of the 250 open Matas stores and get one bottle of free 200 ml hand-sanitiser.

Danish protective gear a hit abroad
Danish companies are busy exporting protective equipment such as masks, hand sanitisers and face visors.  According to Danske Industri, the priority is to supply within Denmark, but if the country has a sufficient quantity, the equipment can be exported. Countries such as Poland, Germany, India, Iran and the United States are in the queue. DI has announced that it is ready to talk to countries outside the EU that are in short supply of protective equipment. However, as per a new EU export regulation imposed on March 14 to limit the export of protective equipment to non-EU countries, a special permit might have to be requested.

Vester laying off 400
Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas is laying off 400 employees as it has stopped a number of ongoing technology projects during the pandemic. Most of them are in Denmark: the majority in Aarhus and Lem. Additionally, some leaders in executive management will be subject to a 10 percent pay-cut until the end of 2020.

Housing market hit hard
Housing sales in Denmark have slowed down in the past month, according to recently published figures from Boligsiden.dk. In March 2020, 1,288 apartments were sold – a fall of 17.3 percent compared to March 2019. The dip bucks the seasonal upsurge normally seen in May, Nordea Kredit informs Finans.

 


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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.”