Hospitality chiefs celebrate 19 July announcement but warn of long road to recovery July 5, 2021 The hospitality industry welcomed Boris Johnson’s lockdown easing announcement this evening with open arms, but still fears the hangover from Covid-19 restrictions will damage trade. Business owners in the industry have hailed the government decision to lift compulsory restrictions on so-called “Freedom Day”, meaning pubs, bars and restaurants will be able to operate at full [...]
Covid: Work from home guidance to be scrapped from 19 July July 5, 2021 Guidance to work from home if you can will be relaxed in England from 19 July, as the nation is told that it must learn to live with Covid-19. At a press conference this afternoon Boris Johnson confirmed the government’s work from home advice will be scrapped as part of a major shedding of restrictions [...]
Boris Johnson to press ahead with 19 July ‘Big Bang’ freedom day July 5, 2021 Boris Johnson will today announce an end to most coronavirus restrictions in England from 19 July, as the nation prepares to “live with coronavirus”. The Prime Minister will set out how the vaccine programme has allowed the government to move away from legal restrictions on everyday life to a more voluntary approach. New health secretary [...]
Six UK cases: Fast-spreading Lambda variant puzzles Covid scientists due to ‘unusual set of mutations’ July 4, 2021 A Covid-19 variant called Lambda has left Scientist from the World Health Organisation puzzled due to its ‘unusual set of mutations’. The Lambda strain, denoted as C.37, was first discovered in Peru and has spread to nearly 30 countries in the last four weeks, including Argentina and Chile, according to the Financial Times this weekend. [...]
Sunday papers: Face mask wearing and one metre-plus rule to end on 19 July July 4, 2021 Enforced mask wearing will end and social distancing will no longer be required as part of “freedom day” unlocking on July 19, reports have suggested. Boris Johnson is understood to be preparing to update the nation this week on his plans for easing coronavirus restrictions in England, with multiple newspapers suggesting the Prime Minister believes [...]
Doctors urge ministers to keep some Covid curbs after 19 July July 3, 2021 Doctors have urged policy makers to maintain some Covid measures after 19 July, when the final set of restrictions are scheduled to end. Members of the British Medical Association have said face coverings should still be worn and new ventilation standards should be drawn up. The doctors said measures needed to be kept in place [...]
Back to adland: What London’s creatives think about the return to the office July 3, 2021 With the final easing of lockdown restrictions on the horizon, attention is turning to the eventual return to the office and a new era of flexible working. Major banks such as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have all begun bringing staff back into the office, while UBS has said it will embrace a [...]
Millions of Brits may be barred from Europe due to India-made AstraZeneca jab July 2, 2021 Up to five million Brits who are looking to travel in Europe could be turned away due to being given India-made versions of the AstraZeneca jab
Delta variant cases rise by more than 50,000 in a week July 2, 2021 Cases of the delta variant of Covid-19 have risen by 50,824 since last week, representing a 46 per cent case increase, according to the latest figures from Public Health England. There are now nearly 162,000 cases of the Delta variant in the UK, making up approximately 95 per cent of the nation’s Covid cases. [...]
Sodexo nets enlarged Test and Trace contract worth £400m July 2, 2021 Sodexo has become the latest service provider to have its contract to run test and trace facilities for the NHS extended. The outsourcer announced overnight that selected to operate a further 121 fixed and mobile Covid-19 testing centres, which makes it the biggest provider of such services in the country. It added that the new [...]