Off Topic Coronavirus

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Denmark Extends Business Aid to Increase Spending By $15 Billion
By
Morten Buttler
April 19, 2020, 4:06 AM GMT+12
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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.

Finance Minister Nicolai Wammen said in an interview with broadcaster TV2, that Denmark, which is rated AAA, plans to finance new measures partially by issuing government bonds.

“We have a stronger position than many other countries and we are able to borrow money to get through this situation in the best way possible,” Wammen said.

Denmark is among the first countries in Europe to slowly end its lockdown. On Wednesday schools reopened for the youngest students and on Monday small businesses like hairdressers and dentists will be able to open for customers again.
 
CroydonCaptainJack said:
My point is if he said that 20k would be a good result he was right. I seem to recall it in the early press meetings the figure was put to him. I don't think he conjured it up.
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I think we may recall differently, my recollection is that he put the number forward spontaneously, and my interpretation of it was that it was both ‘good’ and by implication achievable, if challenging. He was giving evidence to the Health Select Committee.
Patrick Vallance, the U.K. government’s chief scientific adviser, told a panel of lawmakers including former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt that it would be “horrible” but a “good outcome” if Britain can keep its number of deaths below 20,000. “Every year, in seasonal flu, the number of excess deaths is thought to be 8,000, so if we can get this down to 20,000 and below that’s a good outcome in terms of where we’d hope to get to with this outbreak,” Vallance said. (Source: Bloomberg)
 
Staines R's said:
I read today (I think the Telegraph) that maybe Sweden have the right approach after all and will have achieved ‘Herd Immunity’ sooner than was expected. Also avoiding a financially catastrophic lockdown........
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14,385 cases and 1,540 deaths dosent sound that great
That's over 10 percent death rate
 
  1. ITV REPORT 19 April 2020 at 9:33pm
Downing Street hits out at 'falsehoods' amid claims PM dragged feet on coronavirus response
Downing Street has hit back at newspaper reports that Boris Johnson and his administration dragged their feet in the run-up to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Number 10 accused the Sunday Times of "falsehoods" and "errors" after the newspaper published a piece in which a Whitehall source claimed the Government "missed the boat on testing and PPE" (personal protective equipment).

The article also claimed the Johnson administration "just watched" as the death toll mounted in Wuhan, China.
A Government spokesman said: "This article contains a series of falsehoods and errors and actively misrepresents the enormous amount of work which was going on in government at the earliest stages of the coronavirus outbreak.

"This is an unprecedented global pandemic and we have taken the right steps at the right time to combat it, guided at all times by the best scientific advice.

"The Government has been working day and night to battle against coronavirus, delivering a strategy designed at all times to protect our NHS and save lives.

"Our response has ensured that the NHS has been given all the support it needs to ensure everyone requiring treatment has received it, as well as providing protection to businesses and reassurance to workers.

"The Prime Minister has been at the helm of the response to this, providing leadership during this hugely challenging period for the whole nation."
‘Grotesque to criticise PM over missing coronavirus meetings'

The tone of the statement, posted on the official gov.uk website, was much more aggressive than that used by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove on Sunday morning TV appearances when he described the article as "off beam".

Mr Gove had confirmed the Sunday Times report that the PM had not attended five meetings of the key Government committee Cobra in the run-up to the crisis, but insisted this was not unusual.

That stance was echoed by the Government spokesman who said: "It is entirely normal and proper for Cobr to be chaired by the relevant secretary of state.

"At this point the World Health Organisation had not declared Covid-19 a 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern', and only did so only on January 30.

"Indeed, they chose not to declare a PHEIC the day after the Cobr meeting." In reference to the report that the UK sent 279,000 items of protective equipment to China earlier this year, the Government spokesman said: "The equipment was not from the pandemic stockpile.

"We provided this equipment to China at the height of their need and China has since reciprocated our donation many times over. Between April 2-April 15 we have received over 12 million pieces of PPE in the UK from China."
Ending social distancing ‘risks second wave of deaths in UK’

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth told Sky News: "There are serious questions as to why the Prime Minister skipped five Cobra meetings throughout February, when the whole world could see how serious this was becoming.

"And we know that serious mistakes have been made, we know that our frontline NHS staff don't have the PPE, that they've been told this weekend that they won't necessarily have the gowns which are vital to keep them safe. We know that our testing capacity is not at the level that is needed.

"We know that the ventilators that many hospitals have received are the wrong types of ventilators and there are big questions as to whether we went into this lockdown too slowly, and now we hear the Prime Minister missed five meetings at the start of this outbreak. It suggests that early on he was missing in action."

 
FAKE NEWS: No10 SLAMS Media Over ‘SEXED UP’ Claims PM ‘Missed Cobra Meetings’
NUMBER Ten has issued an extraordinary statement in reponse to Sunday Times claims that Boris Johnson had missed ‘important’ Cobra meetings.

The Sunday Times claimed that Boris had missed ‘important’ meetings on Coronavirus, but it’s not unusual for the COBRA sessions to be chaired by the relevant Secretary of State, rather than the PM.

Downing Street attacked the sources and accused the article of being riddled with “falsehoods” and errors”
A Government spokesman said: “This article contains a series of falsehoods and errors and actively misrepresents the enormous amount of work which was going on in government at the earliest stages of the coronavirus outbreak.”
A spokesman for Boris also hit out at an unnamed source in the article who claimed there had been a “failure of leadership” in Downing Street.
The statement said: “This anonymous source is variously described as a ‘senior adviser to Downing Street’ and a ‘senior Downing Street adviser’.

“The two things are not the same.”
“One suggests an adviser employed by the government in No10.”

“The other someone who provides ad hoc advice. Which is it?”

FAKE NEWS
“This is an unprecedented global pandemic and we have taken the right steps at the right time to combat it, guided at all times by the best scientific advice.”

“The Government has been working day and night to battle against coronavirus, delivering a strategy designed at all times to protect our NHS and save lives.”

“Our response has ensured that the NHS has been given all the support it needs to ensure everyone requiring treatment has received it, as well as providing protection to businesses and reassurance to workers.”

“The Prime Minister has been at the helm of the response to this, providing leadership during this hugely challenging period for the whole nation.”

Number Ten also attacked claims that the Government sent PPE to China – depsite the Chinese sending back PPE “many times over”.

The Number 10 spokesman said: “The equipment was not from the pandemic stockpile.”

“We provided this equipment to China at the height of their need and China has since reciprocated our donation many times over.”

“Between April 2 and April 15 we have received over 12 million pieces of PPE in the UK from China.”

“The Department for Health began work on boosting PPE stocks in January, before the first confirmed UK case.”


 
sb_73 said:
I think we may recall differently, my recollection is that he put the number forward spontaneously, and my interpretation of it was that it was both ‘good’ and by implication achievable, if challenging. He was giving evidence to the Health Select Committee.
Patrick Vallance, the U.K. government’s chief scientific adviser, told a panel of lawmakers including former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt that it would be “horrible” but a “good outcome” if Britain can keep its number of deaths below 20,000. “Every year, in seasonal flu, the number of excess deaths is thought to be 8,000, so if we can get this down to 20,000 and below that’s a good outcome in terms of where we’d hope to get to with this outbreak,” Vallance said. (Source: Bloomberg)
Click to expand...

I've only watched the press conferences so that explains where the original figure came from and that must have been where the journalist got the figure from.
I agree we won't achieve that now.
 
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