Covid-19 threatens to set UK data protection back a generation August 14, 2020 There’s another crisis brewing. Millions of businesses across the UK have quickly adapted to the Covid-19 environment. While some companies have adopted technology to handle customer data collection, many have turned to more tried-and-tested track and trace systems — namely, good old-fashioned pen and paper. The hospitality industry, and especially pubs and bars, have had [...]
Getting young people back to school in September is critical to their health August 14, 2020 Being at school is good for health. Even now, in the middle of a pandemic, schools can be important for wellbeing by keeping a sense of normality. Yet the parents, students and teachers weighing up the risks on how safe classrooms will be for young people in September might not be aware of the strong [...]
PM Johnson toughens enforcement measures ahead of lockdown easing August 13, 2020 Enforcement measures in the UK are set to get tougher ahead of further lockdown easing this weekend, with fines for breaking the rules set to double. Fines for repeat offenders of mandatory face covering rules will double to a maximum of £3,200 in the coming weeks, the government said today. New fines will also be introduced for [...]
Johnson says UK will be ‘ruthless’ over quarantine as French cases spike August 13, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said said Downing Street is prepared to be “ruthless” with countries over quarantine rules, after he was asked whether France would be removed from the government’s safe-travel list. The UK has imposed a 14-day quarantine period for arrivals from countries such as Spain and Belgium, as infections rates rise and fears mount [...]
Staff at M&S sandwich supplier self-isolate after coronavirus outbreak August 13, 2020 Nearly 300 people have tested positive for coronavirus after an outbreak at a food plant in Northampton. A local council representative told the BBC that 297 people had tested positive, after Greencore in Northampton started “proactively testing” workers. Northampton is one of 29 regions in England to be put on a watchlist for a potential [...]
Brits optimistic about returning to work despite safety concerns August 13, 2020 British workers are largely optimistic about returning to the office, though concerns remain over whether employers will put the right safety measures in place. Just under half of UK employees said they felt positive about going back to work, while less than one in five said they felt negative, according to a new survey. The [...]
Coronavirus: Amazon donates £500,000 to Fleabag theatre fund August 13, 2020 A fund set up by two Fleabag stars to support theatre workers affected by the coronavirus crisis has received a £500,000 donation from Amazon Prime Video. Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Olivia Colman said they were “utterly blown away” by the “extraordinary” level of support. The donation forms part of a $6m (£4.6m) commitment from the US [...]
British life insurers paid £90m in coronavirus death claims by the end of May August 13, 2020 British life insurers paid £90m in claims for coronavirus deaths in the three months to the end of May, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said today. Insurers received 7,000 life insurance claims from families of people who died from covid-19 and 83 per cent have been paid so far, the ABI said. Every life [...]
Six per cent of people in England may have already contracted coronavirus August 13, 2020 Over 3.4m people in the UK may have already contracted coronavirus, a new study from Imperial College has shown. In the world’s largest home antibody testing programme, over 100,000 volunteers tested themselves at home using a finger prick test between 20 June and 13 July to check if they have antibodies against the virus. The [...]
UK coronavirus death toll lowered after methodology change August 12, 2020 The official death toll from coronavirus in the UK was lowered by over 5,000 today after the government adopted a new way of counting fatalities. Concerns had been raised that the old method overstated the number of deaths, as it counted every death after someone had been diagnosed with coronavirus with no cut-off point. From [...]