OREANDA-NEWS. In 2020, the Norwegian authorities will almost double the spending from the Government Pension Fund, which is replenished with oil revenues, compared with the initial plan presented in October.

According to the Norwegian Telegraph Bureau, the government intends to use 419.6 billion krones (38 billion euros) from the Fund to eliminate the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. This amount is 174.4 billion krones higher than was laid down in the draft budget, which was published in October 2019.

This year, according to the draft updated budget, a drop of 4 % in gross domestic product is expected. In addition, the country is currently experiencing the highest unemployment rate in 75 years. Although the peak of unemployment has already been passed, the cabinet believes that by the end of the year it will be at the level of 5.9 %, compared with 2.2 % in 2019.

The number of cases of infection with COVID-19 in Norway increased by 29 per day, up to 8,135. According to the latest data, 224 people died from the effects of coronavirus, 58 were hospitalized.