UK coronavirus death toll passes 16,000 April 19, 2020 The UK’s coronavirus death toll passed 16,000 today as another 596 people in hospital died from the virus. More than 120,000 have also tested positive for the virus out of a total of 482,063 tests. Education secretary Gavin Williamson announced the new figures today as he paid tribute to people working in the education sector. [...]
UK considers three-stage ‘traffic light’ plan to exit coronavirus lockdown April 19, 2020 Michael Gove has poured cold water on reports that schools and some shops could be re-opened by next month in an easing of the UK’s coronavirus lockdown restrictions. When asked about a government report first leaked to Buzzfeed about the UK’s three-stage lockdown exit plan, Gove said it was not correct that schools could be [...]
Michael Gove hits out at reports Boris Johnson skipped coronavirus meetings April 19, 2020 Senior minister Michael Gove has defended Boris Johnson’s efforts during the coronavirus crisis after an explosive report claimed the Prime Minister missed a series of coronavirus Cobra meetings. The Sunday Times reported today that Johnson missed five of the crisis meetings in late January and early February when the coronavirus first began to spread outside [...]
UK coronavirus hospital deaths rise by 847 to 14,576 April 17, 2020 The UK’s coronavirus hospital death toll rose by 847 yesterday, meaning 14,576 people have now died in Britain’s hospitals from the virus. The number is slightly lower than the daily rise of 861 reported for the day ending Wednesday. The previous daily rise had been 761. Britain recorded its highest daily death toll on April [...]
China says Wuhan coronavirus death toll 50 per cent higher than previously reported April 17, 2020 The Chinese city Wuhan which was at the heart of the coronavirus outbreak today upped its official death toll from coronavirus by 50 per cent to 3,869, state TV reported. The city where the novel coronavirus first infected humans added another 1,290 victims on top of the 2,570 previously counted, which reflected delays, omissions and [...]
Funding Circle receives accreditation for government’s CBILS coronavirus loan scheme April 17, 2020 Peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle said today it had received accreditation from the British Business Bank (BBB) to take part in the government’s coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS). It is the first alternative lender to receive accreditation to lend to customers via the emergency scheme which is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses stay [...]
Rishi Sunak expands coronavirus loan scheme to include all UK businesses April 16, 2020 The government has expanded its £330bn coronavirus loan scheme to cover all financially viable UK businesses regardless of size. The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loans Scheme (CLBILS) will allow companies with a turnover of more than £45 million to apply for up to £25 million of finance. Firms with a turnover of more than £250 [...]
UK needs coronavirus testing and tracing ‘command centre’ to beat virus April 16, 2020 The UK must create a 24/7 coronavirus testing and tracing “command centre” to exit its Covid-19 lockdown, according to a new report. A study from right-leaning think tank Policy Exchange said the command centre should be created “to oversee and implement a national testing and tracing strategy for hunting down and defeating Covid-19”. The report [...]
UK extends coronavirus lockdown for at least three more weeks April 16, 2020 The UK will remain in coronavirus lockdown for at least the next three weeks, after today’s meeting of the government’s top scientific body. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said at today’s press briefing that “the advice from Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) is that relaxing any of the [social distancing] measures in place would risk [...]
Coronavirus: Westminster to return through ‘virtual parliament’ April 16, 2020 Parliament is set to resume next week, with MPs allowed to quiz ministers through the video conference app Zoom. The House of Commons Commission gave approval today for up to 120 MPs to take be on video conference at a time, with a further 50 allowed to sit in the House of Commons under social [...]