Coronavirus: Government slams ‘breath holding’ advice amid fake news crackdown March 30, 2020 Specialist government units have been forced to rubbish claims that holding your breath for 10 seconds is a test for coronavirus amid a surge in misinformation about the pandemic. Number 10’s Rapid Response Unit identified the claim in posts circulating on Facebook and Whatsapp that claimed to come from a board member at Stanford Hospital. [...]
Retailers urge government to release tax rebates amid coronavirus crisis March 30, 2020 UK retailers have urged the government to approve billions of pounds worth of tax rebates to help cash flow as businesses battle to stay afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic. The British Retail Consortium and rating advisory Altus Group have called on the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to settle outstanding business rates appeals ahead of the new [...]
Airlines ask grounded staff to answer NHS volunteer call March 30, 2020 Virgin Atlantic and Easyjet have written to grounded staff members asking them to help in the NHS’ new Nightingale hospitals in a bid to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. Easyjet has already contacted all 9,000 of its employees, including 4,000 or so cabin crew staff trained in CPR, whilst Virgin will begin writing to 4,000 of [...]
Coronavirus: Panic buying sparks surge in flexible storage demand March 30, 2020 Coronavirus panic buying has caused a 50 per cent jump in food production that has put pressure on UK supply chains, according to the latest research. Providers of flexible industrial space have reported an uptick in demand as supermarkets urgently attempt to cope with a surge in customer orders due to the pandemic. Grocers have [...]
Coronavirus: Deliveroo to provide 500,000 free meals to NHS staff March 29, 2020 Deliveroo has pledged to deliver 500,000 free meals to NHS workers across the country as the UK gears up for the peak of the coronavirus outbreak. The delivery firm said it has begun providing meals to NHS trusts, while customers will be able to donate funds to buy food for doctors and nurses through its [...]
MPs urge chancellor Rishi Sunak to act ‘urgently’ to save UK’s airlines March 29, 2020 A group of 38 MPs has written to chancellor Rishi Sunak asking him to “urgently review” the support that the UK’s airlines and airports have asked for in a bid to survive the coronavirus pandemic. Since the outbreak began, the global aviation industry has been decimated, with travel restrictions now covering 98 per cent of [...]
Culture in quarantine: Which UK venues have gone virtual during the coronavirus crisis? March 29, 2020 Since Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week ramped up social distancing measures to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, thousands of cultural institutions across the UK have been forced to close their doors. However, as millions of Brits hunker down at home, a range of arts and culture venues have launched new digital initiatives to ensure exhibitions [...]
McLaren joins industrial push to manufacture 10,000 ventilators March 29, 2020 Supercar maker McLaren is one of a number of firms who have joined forces in a bid to massively increase the production of ventilators to help in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Ventilator Challenge UK, as the consortium is known, comprises some of the UK’s largest industrial groups, bringing together companies such as BAE [...]
Coronavirus: Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia pauses pension scheme payments March 29, 2020 Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia is planning to pause payments to its pensions scheme in a bid to save cash during the coronavirus crisis. Green’s retail empire, which includes Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, will defer its deficit recovery contributions, after all non-essential retailers were forced to close as part of a government lockdown to slow the [...]
Qatar Airways says it will need state aid as cash begins to run out March 29, 2020 Qatar Airways has become the latest airline to warn that it will need state aid in order to continue flying, the carrier’s chief executive has told Reuters. The Gulf state’s flag carrier is one of few airlines to continue operating a relatively normal schedule of flights during the coronavirus crisis. In recent weeks it has [...]