Swedish govt announces package to support small businesses

Sweden announced on Wednesday a new round of measures to support the economy against the coronavirus outbreak, offering loan guarantees of up to 100 billion Swedish crowns for small businesses and 5 billion for lower rental costs. The government has already announced a range of measures including shouldering the full cost for sick leave from companies for a period of time, as well as the brunt of the cost for temporary redundancies due to the crisis.

"These measures will together will save Swedish companies and Swedish jobs," Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson told a news conference.