UK coronavirus lockdown: Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer pushes for exit strategy April 15, 2020 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for transparency over when UK coronavirus lockdown measures will ease, as the government faces pressure over its care homes strategy. Starmer’s party will back the government’s likely extension of the coronavirus lockdown tomorrow. But he has said “there needs to be transparency” over how long the measures will [...]
Costain secures £3.3bn HS2 contract that could create 6,000 jobs April 15, 2020 Engineering firm Costain has won a £3.3bn contract to design and build the tunnels connecting the HS2 railway to London Euston station. This initial phase of the High-Speed Two (HS2) railway project, which controversially got the go-ahead from government in February, will create 6,000 jobs, Costain said. Costain’s share price surged 23 per cent to [...]
Carr’s suspends dividend to hedge against coronavirus fallout April 15, 2020 Agriculture and engineering firm Carr’s has seen its half-year profit drop amid “significant” industry headwinds, it said today. The FTSE-listed farming supplies company has also deferred its dividend “until the full effects of coronavirus become clear, though it has not seen an impact so far. The figures Adjusted profit before tax slumped 16 per cent [...]
UK coronavirus deaths jump by 778 to pass 12,000 April 14, 2020 Another 778 Brits have died to take the UK coronavirus death toll to 12,107 as the daily infection count climbed, official data revealed today. Another 5,252 Brits had tested positive for coronavirus by 5pm yesterday, the Department for Health revealed. England counted another 744 coronavirus deaths today to bring the country’s total to 11,005. London [...]
Coronavirus: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to host NHS maternity services April 14, 2020 Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has offered its stadium as a place to host maternity and antenatal services to allow hospitals to focus on coronavirus. Pregnancy scans, antenatal clinics, a maternal day unit and a range of other services will be available inside the stadium from today. The move allows North Middlesex University Hospital to improve [...]
Astrazeneca rushes to open coronavirus drug trial April 14, 2020 Astrazeneca is set to begin clinical trials to test its Calquence drug’s effectiveness in the treatment of severe coronavirus patients. The pharmaceutical giant’s shares shot up on the FTSE 100 in early trading after saying it would begin a clinical trial. The trial will seek to assess Calquence’s potential to treat Covid-19 infections. Calquence is [...]
Top scientists to review impact of UK coronavirus lockdown April 14, 2020 The government’s top scientific advisers will meet today to review the impact of the UK coronavirus lockdown. They will pass their findings to the government, though ministers have said it is unlikely the coronavirus lockdown will ease soon. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab yesterday ruled out any change to the UK coronavirus lockdown “until we’re confident…that [...]
Softbank warns of historic $16.7bn loss after coronavirus and bad bets April 14, 2020 Softbank expects to lose $16.7bn (£13.3bn) on tech startups it has invested in through its Vision Fund this year due to coronavirus. The Japanese company blamed the coronavirus pandemic for a “deteriorating market environment” as it booked its first loss in over 20 years. Softbank has also made some bad bets outside its $100bn Vision [...]
Firms rush to 3D print face masks to meet NHS PPE demand April 13, 2020 Amid a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep frontline NHS staff safe in the ongoing coronavirus crisis, hospitals have turned to the 3D printer community for vital safety gear. The UK’s 3D printing firms and the wider 3D printing community have had orders for hundreds of thousands of PPE gear, such as face [...]
England coronavirus deaths rise by 765 as global cases pass 1.5m April 9, 2020 Coronavirus deaths in England have jumped by another 765 to hit a total of 7,248, new NHS figures released today show, as global cases topped 1.5m. Global coronavirus cases passed 1.5m this afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The NHS England figures confirmed 140 English deaths actually happened yesterday. And it represents a drop [...]
