National Round-Up: Two Danes among the thousands injured in Beirut

Roselyne Min

Aug 14, 2020

Two Danes were among the 6,000 people injured or killed in the explosion that rocked Beirut on August 4, Politiken reports.

One of them was Melissa Maria Elsberg, a Danish embassy employee who fell several metres from a building and broke two ribs and her wrist.

In total, 177 people died in the explosion, which caused 95 billion kroner’s worth of damage, according to AFP.

One in five has lost contact with a sibling
According to a new survey conducted by YouGov for Kristeligt Dagblad, some 19 percent have lost contact with one or more of their siblings – the 13 percent as a result of themselves or their siblings breaking contact, and 6 percent due to other reasons. Some 1,489 people in Denmark were surveyed on the matter between June 2 and 8. The survey explains this is because “we are more independent in marriage and family relationships”, contending that children should be raised learning to be dependent on their siblings.

Øresund bridge’s traffic fell by 40 percent
According to Øresund News, traffic across the Øresund Bridge fell by 40 percent in the wake of the corona pandemic during the first six months, compared to the same period last year. Revenue from road traffic decreased by 213 million kroner to 459 million kroner during the period. From March 16 to mid-April total traffic fell by about 70 percent compared to last year. Since the regulations have been relaxed Danish travellers have contributed far more to restoring levels than their Swedish counterparts – mainly due to the entry restrictions in Denmark, according to Øresund Konsortium.

Great Belt set a traffic record
Traffic on the Great Belt set both a daily and a monthly record in July, according to Sund & Bælt. A total of 1,293,594 vehicles drove over the belt in the month, corresponding to a daily average traffic of 41,729. On July 18, some 53,900 cars drove over the bridge. In comparison, the average daily traffic in 2019 was 36,359. The previous monthly record was set in August 2019 when 1,287,884 vehicles passed over.

Many return to their workplaces
According to the Danish business authority, Erhvervsstyrelsen, many have left the wage compensation scheme. Almost a quarter of a million were sent home with wage compensation in the spring. Currently, only 14,000 people are on wage compensation. The authority estimates the number will increase as companies submit and process their applications; however it will still remain significantly less than in the spring. In total, 270,000 employees have been covered by the wage compensation scheme.

Queen’s second cousin Prince Waldemar dies
Prince Waldemar, a second cousin of the Danish queen, has passed away at the age of 79. Prince Waldemar, a great-grandson of King Frederik VIII, was known in Denmark for a few scandals – most notably for having a messy divorce in 1992 and receiving a conditional custodial sentence for illegally possessing a weapon. The prince was born in Berlin in 1940, but moved to Denmark at the age of five. He was not only related to the Danish royal family, as he was descended from the English king George II and was thus part of the British line-of-succession.