Coronavirus: Premier League clubs should face ‘windfall tax’ April 2, 2020 Premier League clubs that furlough non-playing staff during the Covid-19 crisis should be slapped with a windfall tax, according to the chair of Westminster’s sports select committee. Tottenham, Newcastle and Norwich City have taken steps to furlough non-playing staff so they can access the government’s wage subsidy scheme, while still paying players their full contracts. [...]
Coronavirus: Brits approve of government for first time in almost a decade April 2, 2020 The British public approves of the government for the first time in almost a decade, according to the latest research. A survey found that amid the coronavirus crisis 52 per cent of Brits said they approve of Boris Johnson’s government’s record, compared to 26 per cent who disapprove. Net approval is now 26 per cent, [...]
Coronavirus: Boris Johnson set to leave self-isolation on Friday – but he still has symptoms April 2, 2020 Boris Johnson will leave self-isolation tomorrow despite still showing symptoms of coronavirus. The Prime Minister said last Friday that he had tested positive for Covid-19. He self-isolated for seven days as per Public Health England’s (PHE) guidance. Johnson has continued to fulfill his prime ministerial duties during this period through conference calls and virtual meetings. [...]
UK coronavirus death toll jumps 566 to 2,921 April 2, 2020 The UK’s coronavirus death toll jumped 569 today to 2,921, the Department of Health said. As of 9am today, a total of 163,194 people have been tested of which 33,718 tested positive, the department said. As of 5pm yesterday, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 2,921 have died, the department [...]
BCC: UK businesses face cash flow crisis in coronavirus fallout April 2, 2020 Most of Britain’s small businesses have just three months or less of cash reserves as they bid to survive the UK coronavirus outbreak, according to a study released today. And firms have already experienced a “sharp and significant” fall in domestic and overseas revenue amid a global coronavirus lockdown. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), [...]
Boris Johnson: Testing is key to unlocking UK coronavirus ‘puzzle’ April 2, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said a big increase in testing is the way to “unlock the puzzle” of the UK coronavirus outbreak. The Prime Minister admitted the government must “massively ramp up” testing after it emerged just 2,000 frontline NHS workers have been tested for coronavirus. A rapid increase in NHS testing was necessary [...]
UK urged to include private sector to ramp up coronavirus testing April 1, 2020 The UK must utilise the country’s private laboratories if it is going to reach its coronavirus testing targets, according to a report from a leading London think tank. The government is beginning to face scathing criticism as it fails to meet testing targets and as the UK falls further behind other OECD countries in testing [...]
UK mobilises army, navy and air force reservists for coronavirus fight April 1, 2020 The UK has mobilised 3,000 army, navy and air force reservists to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Defence said today. “It is expected that 3,000 reservists will be required as part of this tranche and will initially be mobilised for six months, to be kept under review,” the ministry said. “The reserve [...]
Nearly 1m people apply for Universal Credit as coronavirus lockdown paralyses economy April 1, 2020 Nearly 1m people in the UK have applied for Universal Credit in the two weeks since Prime Minister Boris Johnson implemented strict lockdown measures, the government said today. There are normally around 100,000 applicants per two week period – in the last two weeks there were 950,000. The government has moved 10,000 staff to process [...]
Southend Hospital will ‘restrict services’ without more protective equipment April 1, 2020 Staff at Essex’s Southend Hospital have warned they may have to limit services if they do not receive more protective equipment to treat coronavirus patients. Frontline staff at the hospital wrote to management to say that if they did not get an increase in personal protective equipment (PPE) by the end of the day they [...]