‘I told staff to delete the app’: Hospitality reacts to pingdemic crisis July 20, 2021 While the government was hailing the arrival of so-called “freedom day” yesterday, the threat of rising Covid cases and the “pingdemic” forcing staff to self isolate has left the beleaguered hospitality industry with little to celebrate. One restaurateur told City A.M: “Our ability to operate hangs in the balance by some fairly crude geolocation tech”, [...]
Over 1 million children out of school last week due to ‘pingdemic’ July 20, 2021 More than 1 million state school children were off school last week because of coronavirus-related reasons, government figures revealed. The estimated number of 1.05 million school students not in class on 15 July, is a record high since all children returned to school in March, and up 11.2 per cent on figures from just one [...]
China reports highest jump in new Covid cases since January July 20, 2021 China recorded the highest daily tally of new Covid cases since January amid a surge in imported infections in Yunnan province sharing the border with Myanmar. Chinese health officials reported 65 new confirmed cases on Monday, more than double a day earlier. That was the most number of daily new cases since 30 January, when [...]
Pingdemic: 1 in 5 NHS Covid app users have turned contact tracing off July 20, 2021 1 in 5 NHS Covid app users currently have their Bluetooth or contact tracing turned off on their phones, as more than half a million people were “pinged” into isolation last week. As the Delta variant rips through the UK and most restrictions lift, a third of Brits using the NHS app have admitted to [...]
Number of new businesses in UK increases by 14 per cent despite pandemic impact July 20, 2021 The number of new businesses started in the UK increased by 14 per cent in the last year despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, outpacing the global average of a 6 per cent increase in business start-ups. A study by UHY, the international accountancy network, shows that there were 726,000 new businesses created in [...]
US State Department issues ‘do not travel’ memo after UK Covid-19 cases surge July 20, 2021 Americans should avoid travelling to the UK, the US State Department has warned after Britain saw its Covid-19 cases soar to the highest levels since January. It follows the decision by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to boost its travel warning to “Very High”. They cited the high number of cases that [...]
Government scales back isolation advice as ‘pingdemic’ hits businesses July 20, 2021 The government has toned down its guidance on whether people should self-isolate when pinged by the NHS test and trace app amid concerns about staff shortages. Speaking to Times Radio this morning, business minister Paul Scully said the app was there to allow people to make “informed decisions”, but added that isolation was “obviously up [...]
Study: Private equity and venture capital professionals work 56 hours a week during pandemic July 20, 2021 Working hours reportedly increased by 4 per cent on average between 2019 and 2020, according to a report by Movemeon.com and Payspective.com, shared with City A.M. this morning. Compiling 35,000 data points, the study was conducted before the second wave. It found that working hours increased by 8 per cent for private equity and venture [...]
Nightclubs could turn into super spreading events, warns chief scientific adviser July 19, 2021 The Government’s chief scientific adviser has warned that nightclubs could be “potential super spreading events” despite the Government allowing the venues to reopen earlier today. Sir Patrick Vallance said the nightclub environment will allow Covid-19 to spread easier as the Prime Minister laid out plans for venues to require double-vaccination for people to enter from [...]
Katie Hopkins deported from Australia over controversial quarantine behaviour July 19, 2021 British right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins will be deported from Australia for bragging about her plans to disobey hotel quarantine measures. On Friday, she joked about opening the door “naked with no face mask” to workers delivering her meals in an Instagram Live recorded from her Sydney hotel room. The post has since been deleted. Ms [...]