Poland announces extra $2.7bn in support for virus-hit economy

• The measures widen a plan initially valued at 212 billion zlotys, which some businesses have criticised as too small and too complex.
• "The shield concentrates above all on ensuring the safety of workers and the liquidity and continuity of business operations,"

WARSAW: Poland plans additional measures worth over 11 billion zlotys ($2.65 billion) to shield the economy from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, ministers said on Tuesday.

The measures widen a plan initially valued at 212 billion zlotys, which some businesses have criticised as too small and too complex.

"The shield concentrates above all on ensuring the safety of workers and the liquidity and continuity of business operations," Development Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz told reporters.

The new measures include extending exemptions from social security payments to companies employing between 10 and 49 people, help for people whose contracts do not provide full employment rights, support for farmers, and a bigger pot of loans for larger companies.