Calls grow for job retention scheme to be extended May 3, 2020 Calls are growing for Rishi Sunak to extend the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme past June. The scheme sees the government pay 80 per cent of people’s wages, up to £2,500 a month, for furloughed employees until the end of June. Boris Johnson next week will announce how the UK will ease social distancing restrictions, [...]
WHO: Second UK coronavirus peak ‘certainly possible’ May 3, 2020 A second peak of coronavirus infections in the UK is “certainly possible”, according to a leading World Health Organisation epidemiologist. Dr Maria van Kerkhove, the technical lead of the World Health Organisation’s Covid-19 response, said countries must “remain on alert for additional transmission” even after they have suppressed the virus. Boris Johnson will announce the [...]
Coronavirus lockdown: Office workers to be last to return to work May 3, 2020 Offices will likely have to wait several more months to open as the government prepares to next week unveil its roadmap to ease the coronavirus lockdown. Boris Johnson will announce the government’s strategy for easing coronavirus social distancing measures at the end of the week. The Sunday Times reports that sectors such as construction, and [...]
Coronavirus testing and tracing app to start Isle of Wight trial May 3, 2020 The UK’s coronavirus testing and tracing mobile app will be trialled in the Isle of Wight next week, with a full rollout expected later this month. People who download the app will be able to alert other people they have been in contact with that they have coronavirus symptoms. The person with the symptoms,and anyone [...]
Coronavirus: Government optimistic UK will hit 100,000 daily testing target May 1, 2020 The government is likely to hit or come close to its daily coronavirus testing target of 100,000 today, according to housing minister Robert Jenrick. As of yesterday morning, the UK had carried out 80,000 tests – 20,000 short of the original target set by health secretary Matt Hancock a month ago. Hitting the goal would [...]
Donald Trump claims to have seen evidence coronavirus started in Wuhan lab May 1, 2020 President Donald Trump has claimed to see evidence coronavirus originated in a Wuhan laboratory, and said the outbreak could have been contained “relatively easily” by China. At Thursday’s White House press briefing, the US President was asked if he had seen “anything that gives you a high degree of confidence” the Wuhan Institute of Virology [...]
Boris Johnson promises no post-coronavirus austerity April 30, 2020 Boris Johnson has promised there will not be a period of austerity after the coronavirus crisis. The Prime Minister said austerity was “not a part of our approach” when asked about how the government will deal with the hundreds of billions of pounds of debt the pandemic will have added. The Office for Budget Responsibility [...]
Boris Johnson: UK ‘past the peak’ of coronavirus outbreak April 30, 2020 Boris Johnson has announced that the UK is past the peak of its coronavirus outbreak and that he will outline the government’s plan to ease the lockdown next week. Speaking at today’s press briefing, Johnson said the country was “past the peak and we’re on the downward slope”. He said that next week’s unveiling of [...]
Boris Johnson asks British businesses to ‘keep going’ through coronavirus lockdown April 30, 2020 Boris Johnson has asked the UK’s business owners to “keep going” as he prepares to face his first press conference since March. Addressing businesses today, the Prime Minister tweeted “I share your anxiety” about the future of the economy, but that the coronavirus lockdown must continue to “protect our NHS and save lives”. Johnson, who [...]
Brexit trade deal ‘won’t happen’ unless EU changes fisheries stance by June April 30, 2020 The UK’s Brexit negotiating team does not expect a trade deal to be done before the 31 December deadline if the EU does not change its position on fisheries and the so-called level playing field by June. The two areas have become major flashpoints in the first two rounds of UK-EU talks, with negotiators from [...]