Moderna to trial new Covid vaccine for South African mutation January 25, 2021 Moderna is set to trial its new Covid-19 vaccine specially designed to tackle a new coronavirus strain that first emerged in South Africa, the company announced today. The US pharmaceutical firm said laboratory tests showed its current vaccine appears to work against the UK Covid variant first identified in Kent. However, it warned that the [...]
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 [...]
Pubs and restaurants struggle to pay rent due to lockdown restrictions January 25, 2021 Commercial landlords collected just 77 per cent of rent in the final quarter, as retail, leisure and hospitality firms struggled under the pressure of lockdown restrictions. The latest research showed that pub, bar and restaurant tenants paid 23 per cent of rent as sales were decimated by Covid-19 restrictions in the crucial Christmas trading period. [...]
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 [...]
Dutch anti-lockdown protests turn violent after new curfew January 25, 2021 Thousands of people in The Netherlands have come out against tougher Covid restrictions, namely the country’s first curfew since the Second World War, with police detaining around 240 people yesterday. Protesters were detained after demonstrations turned violent and people looted shops, started fires and threw stones and fireworks. Demonstrations hit at least 10 Dutch cities [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Priti Patel introduces new £800 fine for large gatherings January 21, 2021 People attending gatherings in groups of 15 or more during lockdown will each be slapped with a new £800 fine, the home secretary has announced. Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, Priti Patel said: “My message is clear, if you don’t follow the rules, the police will enforce them. Police officers are now moving [...]