No decline in Covid-19 infections in first days of lockdown January 21, 2021 Infection levels did not slow down, and may have risen instead, during the initial 10 days of the latest national lockdown, scientists tracking the spread of the virus have found. The research, carried out between 6 and 15 January, found one in 63 people were infected across England, and the infection was most prevalent in [...]
Biden announces return to global climate accord, new curbs on U.S. oil industry January 21, 2021 By Valerie Volcovici and Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced America’s return to the international Paris Agreement to fight climate change, the centerpiece of a raft of day-one executive orders aimed at restoring U.S. leadership in combating global warming. The announcements also included a sweeping order to review all of [...]
UK marketing budgets slump as Covid impact lingers January 21, 2021 UK marketing budgets continued their sharp decline in the fourth quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the economy. Advertising spend suffered a record drop last year, with the sharpest fall reported in the wake of the first nationwide lockdown in the second quarter. While activity has picked up from lows earlier [...]
UK reports a record 1,820 daily coronavirus deaths January 20, 2021 The UK has recorded a further 1,820 Covid-related deaths in the past 24 hours, marking the highest daily jump since the start of the pandemic. The figure takes the total number of fatalities within 28 days of a positive Covid test to 93,290. A further 38,905 people tested positive for coronavirus in the past 24 [...]
Maskforce: TfL beefs up enforcement of face coverings January 20, 2021 Transport for London (TfL) has hardened its stance against passengers refusing to wear face coverings, after figures released today showed it has handed out almost 2,000 fines for mask-flouters. TfL announced it has expanded its team of enforcement officers to crack down on a “small minority” of the public refusing to comply with social distancing [...]
Corona Impact Series: How a Tower Bridge pie ‘n mash chain weathered the Covid storm January 20, 2021 In this series, City A.M. looks at the financial and economic impact of the ongoing pandemic on a range of small and medium-sized businesses across London. Today: how a small pie & mash chain in Tower Bridge turned up the fire during three lockdowns. M.Manze Pie and Mash’s flagship shop is in Tower Bridge, one of three across London. [...]
Decentralising the NHS could be a game-changer for the UK’s future health January 20, 2021 The NHS is a highly centralised organisation. During the Covid crisis, policy decisions have been made at the top and then passed down. There has been little scope for showing initiative at a local level. This dates back to when the NHS was set up in the late 1940s. Central planning was very fashionable at the time. [...]
London is lowest-vaccinated region in England despite highest population density January 20, 2021 London is currently the lowest-vaccinated region in England, according to the latest official figures, despite having the highest population density. Data from NHS England showed that just under 440,000 people in London have been vaccinated against coronavirus to date — the lowest figure for any English region. The figure is almost half the number of [...]
One restaurateur’s plea: How am I doing? How the f*** do you think I’m doing? January 20, 2021 How am I doing? How the f*** do you think I’m doing? At every turn I politely say “struggling on” or another platitude: “smiling on the outside, crying on the inside.” But let’s put this into perspective. Pied à Terre has been on Charlotte Street for almost 30 years, 28 of those with a Michelin star. Other [...]
Germany warns of border closures amid fear of COVID-19 mutations January 19, 2021 By Andreas Rinke and Christian Kraemer BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Germany may need to consider border crossing curbs if other European countries do not act to halt the spread of the coronavirus, particularly its new, more transmissible variants. “We can do anything we like, but we will not succeed if [...]