PM Boris Johnson says schools must open in September August 9, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said reopening schools in September is imperative, insisting they will be able to teach children safely despite the coronavirus pandemic. Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Johnson said restarting schools was a “national priority” for the government. The move follows a study earlier this month which warned that the UK [...]
Coronavirus: R number rises in London but remains below 1 for England August 7, 2020 The R rate may have risen above 1 for the first time in London, according to new government data published today. The estimate of the rate of coronavirus infection over the past week has seen increases in several regions including the capital. The latest government update indicated that the R number in London is between [...]
Hong Kong to offer free coronavirus testing for all residents August 7, 2020 Hong Kong is set to offer free voluntary coronavirus testing for all its residents as it bids to contain a resurgence of the virus. The plan, which was announced by leader Carrie Lam on Friday, will not be implemented for at least two weeks, but will enable citywide testing for the first time. It comes [...]
France could be next to join UK quarantine list as Sunak warns of travel ‘disruption’ August 7, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned there is “always a risk of disruption to travel plans” as speculation that France could be added to the quarantine list grows. The number of Covid-19 infections in France has increased by more than 1,600 for a second consecutive day, returning to levels not seen since May. It comes just [...]
Government wasted £150m on unusable face masks bought from banker August 6, 2020 The government is facing calls to investigate its procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic, after it emerged ministers spent at least £150m on unusable face masks from a family investment firm. The face masks, which were part of a £252m government contract with investment firm Ayanda Capital signed in April, were deemed [...]
Ministers set to impose quarantine restrictions on Belgium August 6, 2020 The government is preparing to hit travellers from Belgium with mandatory quarantine restrictions after a spike in coronavirus cases in the country. The Daily Mail reported that ministers would sign off on the decision to impose 14-day self-isolation measures on all those travelling from Belgium to the UK at a meeting this evening. It added [...]
Twitter bans Donald Trump’s presidential campaign over coronavirus fake news August 6, 2020 Twitter last night banned Donald Trump’s presidential campaign from tweeting until it agreed to remove a video spouting fake news about coronavirus. In the most sweeping action taken by the social media platform in its 14-year history, Twitter last night temporarily froze the President’s Team Trump campaign account after it was found to breach company [...]
UK workers slowest in Europe to return to the office August 6, 2020 British office workers have been much slower to return to their desks than counterparts in France, Germany, Italy and Spain as they continue to work from home, according to new research. Just over one-third of UK white-collar employees have returned to work since the lockdown, compared to almost three-quarters of staff in Europe, according to [...]
Coronavirus: Screen time soars as adults spend half their day on devices August 5, 2020 A surge in screen time during lockdown saw adults in the UK glued to their devices for more than 40 per cent of the waking day, according to new research. In its annual study of the nation’s media habits, industry watchdog Ofcom found that adults in the UK spent an average of six hours and [...]
Coronavirus: MPs slam ‘serious mistake’ over UK border policy August 5, 2020 The spread of coronavirus in the UK could have been curbed if the government had not made the “serious mistake” of failing to impose quarantine restrictions on international arrivals, a group of MPs has said. The Home Affairs committee said ministers had underestimated the threat of importing the virus from Europe, as opposed to Asia, [...]