Four new vaccination centres open in London as Covid rates fall January 25, 2021 Four major new vaccination centres have opened in London today, as the capital ups its vaccine programme alongside a decline in coronavirus cases. A large-scale vaccination centre at the Francis Crick Institute in central London will open its doors today for frontline healthcare staff, before welcoming the over-80s and at-risk individuals from tomorrow. The centre [...]
Men in low-skilled jobs had highest Covid death rate last year January 25, 2021 Men in low-skilled jobs had the highest rate of death from Covid among workers in England and Wales last year, according to the latest official figures. There were 7,961 coronavirus-related deaths registered among the working age population — aged 20 to 64 years — between 9 March and 28 December last year, according to data [...]
Astrazeneca delays vaccine delivery to EU by ’60 per cent’ January 22, 2021 Astrazeneca will slash the supply of it Covid vaccine to the EU by 60 per cent in first quarter, according to reports. The company was expected to deliver to the 27 EU countries around 80m doses by the end of March, but will now only be able to deliver 31m doses, Reuters reported. It comes [...]
HSBC chiefs to face MPs’ questions over Hong Kong protesters’ frozen accounts January 22, 2021 Two HSBC executives are set to face questions from MPs next week over the bank’s stance on Hong Kong, amid mounting pressure to reverse a decision to freeze the accounts of pro-democracy activists in the region. HSBC faced backlash last summer after it issued a statement in favour of a new National Security Law in [...]
UK coronavirus mutation may be more deadly, says PM January 22, 2021 There is “some evidence” that the new Covid variant first identified in the UK is more deadly than other strains, the Prime Minister has announced. “We’ve been informed today that in addition to spreading more quickly, it also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant that was first identified in London [...]
Coronavirus: UK R rate falls to between 0.8 and 1 January 22, 2021 The UK’s R rate has dropped sharply to a best estimate of between 0.8 and 1, according to latest official data, suggesting lockdown restrictions across the four nations are beginning to make their mark. The figure marks a significant fall from last week’s rate of reproduction of the virus, which was estimated to be somewhere [...]
Vaccine hopes fail to inject consumer confidence during lockdown January 21, 2021 The nation’s largest ever vaccination programme failed to buoy UK consumer confidence during the latest national lockdown, a new survey has shown, as widespread gloom about current Covid restrictions prevailed into the New Year. The closely-watched consumer confidence index from researcher GfK fell two points to minus 28 in January after a slight uptick over [...]
Bar-a-Lago: Facebook to review Trump ban January 21, 2021 Facebook’s independent oversight board will review the company’s decision to ban former US president Donald Trump’s social media accounts. Both Trump’s Facebook and Instagram profiles will remain suspended while the review is underway, the company announced. In the first move of its kind, Mark Zuckerberg’s company suspended the former president earlier this month in the [...]
Next pulls out of plans to buy Topshop-owner Arcadia January 21, 2021 Next has backed out of plans to buy Sir Philip Green’s collapsed retail empire Arcadia Group, potentially putting up to 13,000 jobs at risk. In a statement, the high street chain said it had withdrawn from plans to buy the Topshop owner because it was “unable to meet the price expectations of the vendor”. “Next [...]
City bodies urge Londoners to save parks for those without gardens January 21, 2021 Londoners have been urged to ditch the car and enjoy their local parks, so that those without gardens can enjoy their own neighbourhoods during lockdown. In an open letter to the public, the City of London, Royal Parks and Lee Valley Regional Park Authority called on people to stick to their local green spaces as Covid continues [...]
