Google pushes back office return to January as Covid cases surge August 31, 2021 Google has pushed back on plans for a full return to the workplace and extended its voluntary return-to-office policy through to January next year, amid concerns over rising Covid cases in some locations around the world. “Beyond January 10, we will enable countries and locations to make determinations on when to end voluntary work-from-home based [...]
Exclusive: City’s venture capital guru on Brexit, ESG fundraising and impact investing August 31, 2021 With Brexit just behind us, and the pandemic gradually being brought under control, it seemed like a good time to measure the temperature of London’s venture capital investment space. City A.M. sat down with David Hall, for his first major interview as chairman of the Venture Capital Trust Association, since succeeding Stuart Veale in January [...]
Covid-19: Scientists in South Africa discover new Coronavirus variant August 31, 2021 South African scientists have identified a new coronavirus variant that shares many mutations with some of the world’s most dominant variants. The new variant, known as C.1.2, was first detected in May and has now spread to most South African provinces and to seven other countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania, according to research [...]
EU hits Covid vaccination target with two shots for 70 per cent of adult population August 31, 2021 The European Commission announced today that 70 percent of the European Union’s adult population has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, meeting a target set earlier this year. It marks an important milestone in the EU vaccination strategy after a slow start. However, it also reveals big differences amongst member states. While some nations hit well [...]
Zoom bags first $1bn quarter but demand for the Covid-19 essential is fading August 31, 2021 Zoom, which became a household name amid the pandemic, has recorded its first billion-dollar revenue in just one quarter – but demand for its Covid-19 essential service is quickly weening. The company forecast revenue of between $1.015bn and $1.020bn for its third quarter, which inched past analysts’ average estimate of $1.013bn, according to Refinitiv data. [...]
EU to remove US from Covid safe-travel list after spike in cases August 30, 2021 EU governments are set to blacklist American tourists from the safe travel list later this afternoon after a surge in US infections. American travellers face a ban on non-essential journeys and new quarantine restrictions. Whilst not automatically binding, the decision could set a precedent for new European restrictions on transatlantic travel after a summer of [...]
Nicola Sturgeon self-isolating as Scotland hits record number of new Covid cases August 30, 2021 Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, is self-isolating after being identified as a close contact of someone who has Covid-19. She said she will be self-isolating pending a PCR test result. Under coronavirus rules, double-vaccinated adults and all children can avoid self-isolation if they are a close contact of someone with coronavirus so long as they [...]
Delta Covid variant patients twice as likely to need hospital care August 28, 2021 A new study into the Delta variant of Covid-19 suggests that those who contract the variant are twice as likely to require hospital care than those who contracted the original disease. The findings, which were published in medical journal the Lancet, looked at cases of the disease between March and May. However, it found that [...]
Denmark declares epidemic ‘under control’ as it downgrades Covid-19 August 27, 2021 Denmark no longer considers Covid-19 “a socially critical disease in Denmark”, citing the large number of vaccinations in the Scandinavian country, its government said this afternoon. Health minister Magnus Heunicke said in a statement: “The epidemic is under control. We have record-high vaccination rates.” He said that, starting on 10 September, “we can drop some [...]
Risk of blood clots after vaccine much lower than with Covid-19, researchers conclude August 27, 2021 The increased risk of blood clots after a coronavirus vaccine is much lower than with Covid-19, one of the lead authors of a large study has said, adding that the vast majority of people will be “absolutely fine” after their jab. The findings of what is believed to be the largest study on vaccine side [...]