Denmark may lose $28bn from coronavirus this year

Bloomberg

The Danish economy may lose more than 190 billion kroner ($28 billion) this year, the equivalent of 8.3% of gross domestic product, as a result of a slowdown in economic activity, according to a business survey conducted by the Confederation of Danish Industry.
The figure is up from an estimate of 155 billion kroner four weeks ago, according to a statement on Tuesday. The Copenhagen-based confederation estimated the losses based on replies from an undisclosed number of its 11,500 members.
Over the weekend, the Danish government extended Covid-19 aid packages, which now amount to about 400 billion kroner, including loans and guarantees. After more than a month of lockdown, the Scandinavian country has started a gradual normalisation, sending some children back to school and letting a number of small businesses, including dentists and hairdressers, open their doors again.

Danish applications for wage aid more than double
Denmark says more than twice as many workers as expected have applied for wage compensation under a government plan aimed at preventing businesses from firing staff due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Companies have applied for aid for 150,000 private sector jobs, the business ministry in Copenhagen said in a statement. The government had initially estimated that 70,000 people would use the program, under which the state pays as much as 90% of wages, or up to 30,000 kroner ($4,370) a month.
limits on crowd sizes
Denmark provided more guidelines on when it might be possible for large groups of people to gather again, as the authorities try to map a path back toward normalcy from the lockdown triggered by Covid-19 pandemic.
A cap of 500 people on crowd sizes will hold until September 1, according to a statement on Tuesday. In the meantime, bans on groups of more than 10 will continue to apply until May 10. If there are signs of a resurgence of the coronavirus, the 10-person limit will hold longer.
Last week, Denmark extended the duration of its aid programs to businesses and workers and added some new measures to increase spending by about 100 billion kroner ($15 billion).
The government agreed with all parties in parliament to keep aid measures available until July 8, a month longer than previously planned, according to a statement on Saturday. Companies will now be able to get back some value added tax (VAT) payments they made last year as zero-interest loans.
The government also said that companies which pay out dividends, buy back own shares or are registered in tax havens won’t be eligible for any of the aid programs, which now amount to a total of 400 billion kroner, when including loans and guarantees.