OECD launch real-time information hub to make foreign travel safer May 31, 2021 In a bid to make international travel safer, ministers from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have backed a new initiative to share knowledge in real-time, at the organisation’s annual meeting in Paris today. A safe travel blueprint and a temporary international forum for knowledge sharing form part of the tabled proposal. Allowing [...]
Twickenham rugby stadium turned into walk-in vaccine centre May 31, 2021 Twickenham Rugby Stadium has been turned into a major walk-in vaccine centre in a drive to try to boost vaccinations against coronavirus as cases of the Indian variant surge. Up to 15,000 first dose jabs are being made available for those in the local area who have not yet been vaccinated. The event – called [...]
Caffè Nero slurps up 82 per cent post-restrictions sales spike May 31, 2021 Caffè Nero has enjoyed a sales spike in recent weeks, as restrictions were gradually eased, while it has also repaid all of its Covid financial support. Weekly sales surged 82 per cent as outdoor seating was allowed and then restricted indoor eating was permitted in the last 13 weeks. After paying back a £12.2m Liquidity [...]
Hospitality: A quarter of Britain’s pubs and restaurants still to reopen after lockdown May 31, 2021 One in four of Britain’s restaurants, pubs, bars and other licensed premises have yet to reopen despite the return of inside service. Around 25,000 venues across Britain are still shut, according to new hospitality data from CGA and AlixPartners, shared with City A.M. this morning. The data shows similar trading numbers in England (76.6 per cent) and Scotland [...]
UK may be edging into a third wave, according to scientist advisor May 31, 2021 The UK may be in the early stages of a third wave of Covid-19 infections, according to a scientist advising the government. Professor Ravi Gupta has said that although new cases were “relatively low”, the Indian variant had caused “exponential growth” in infections. The University of Cambridge professor added that lifting Covid restrictions in England [...]
Thousands of London renters may face homelessness as eviction ban ends today May 31, 2021 As a ban on bailiff-enforced rental sector evictions in England ends today, many private renters in London and across the country are worried about losing their home. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation warned this morning that about 400,000 renters have had eviction notices or been told to expect them. Moreover, a survey from Shelter found 22 [...]
Coronavirus: Blackburn overtakes Bolton with highest Covid-19 infection rates in UK May 31, 2021 Blackburn with Darwen has replaced Bolton as the area of the UK with the highest rate of new cases of Covid-19. A total of 584 confirmed cases were recorded in Blackburn with Darwen in the seven days to 26 May, Public Health England said. This is the equivalent of 390.1 cases per 100,000 people, the [...]
China reimposes travel curbs after spike in coronavirus cases May 31, 2021 China has reimposed anti-coronavirus travel controls on its southern province of Guangdong, announcing that anyone leaving the populous region must be tested for Covid-19 following a spike in infections that has alarmed authorities. Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong, recorded 20 new confirmed cases, all contracted locally, in the 24 hours through midnight on Sunday. Guangdong’s [...]
Vietnam identifies new hybrid of Indian and Kent Covid-19 variant May 30, 2021 Authorities in Vietnam have discovered a new variant of Covid-19 that is a combination of the Indian and Kent variants and spreads quickly by air. “Vietnam has uncovered a new Covid-19 variant combining characteristics of the two existing variants first found in India and the UK,” health minister Nguyen Thanh Long said yesterday, describing it as [...]
British agents think it is ‘feasible’ Covid came from Wuhan lab leak May 30, 2021 British intelligence agents now reportedly believe it is “feasible” Covid-19 originated in a Chinese research lab and not from a Wuhan wet market. Agents are now investigating whether the virus originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology and accidentally escaped, a prospect forcefully denied by Beijing, just days after Joe Biden said this theory needed [...]