Rishi Sunak could reduce government furlough wage support from 80 per cent to 60 per cent in the months ahead as part of a plan to ease Britain back to work, it was claimed today. The Chancellor is trying to figure out a way to ‘wind down’ the employee support scheme which currently sees the … Read more
The Government is considering testing sewage to track the size of the coronavirus outbreak in Britain, it has been revealed. Defra confirmed it is conferring with scientists about whether wastewater can help trace the spread of the deadly infection. It could become part of the government’s next phase of the COVID-19 battle plan to test, track … Read more
Scientists provided the UK government with data advocating easing lockdown for healthy young people while remaining in place for over-70s and the most vulnerable. Researchers from the universities of Edinburgh and London modelled what may happen to infection rates under various scenarios. It concluded that the best course of action, in the eyes of these … Read more
Ministers were today facing union warnings over walkouts if health and safety demands are not met when lockdown eases – as Keir Starmer jibed that PPE is not a ‘luxury item’. The government is facing a furious backlash at its draft ‘road map’ for starting to loosen the draconian curbs strangling the economy and plunging … Read more
Headteachers have asked the government to clarify whether they will have to fine parents who refuse to return their children to school after the coronavirus lockdown is eased. More than 1.7 million pupils who are vulnerable, or whose parents are key workers, may be asked to return to school as early as next week, while … Read more
Pressure today mounted on ministers to make a formal face masks announcement after an expert panel ruled they can curb the spread of the coronavirus. Top experts from the prestigious Royal Society concluded that masks – even home-made ones – can reduce the transmission of the deadly infection. In evidence given to Number 10‘s Scientific Advisory … Read more
The membership of the secretive committee which has been advising the Government on its handling of coronavirus was finally made public today. The names of those who sit on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) had not previously been published on security and independence grounds. But this morning the Government bowed to mounting pressure and … Read more
Obesity may be one of the biggest risk factors for developing severe COVID-19, according to scientists. Elderly people, regardless of their weight, have been found to be the most vulnerable to severe illness or death if they catch the coronavirus. But scientific evidence, mostly from the US, is beginning to show that someone who is … Read more
Ministers have warned lockdown may need to remain in place for months until the number of new cases falls below 1,000 per day after Professor Chris Whitty raised the spectre of a second peak far worse than the first. The total number of new coronavirus deaths in all settings was 674 on Thursday, down from … Read more
Boris is back! And everything’s going to be great! That was the emphatic message sent to the country today as the Prime Minister returned to the daily UK government coronavirus press briefing after weeks of absence while he battled the deadly disease himself. He was breathless, I assume from residual side-effects of the virus. But … Read more