Covid: UK records a further 1,348 deaths as 5.9m vaccinated January 23, 2021 The UK has recorded a further 1,348 coronavirus-related deaths, but new figures showed a sharp increase in the number of Brits to receive a vaccine. A total of 5,861,351 people have now been given their first dose of the vaccine, while 468,617 people have also had their second jab. The figures mean that almost half [...]
Cheap use-at-home ‘wonder drug’ that could prevent Covid deaths moves to trial January 23, 2021 A cheap drug credited with dramatically reducing Covid-19 deaths has been moved to trial stage in the UK. Researchers at Oxford University are carrying out a Principle trial programme aimed at finding a treatment that can counteract the disease at an early stage and could be used at home soon after symptoms appear. The next [...]
London Stock Exchange mulls £300m Covid rescue fund January 23, 2021 The London Stock Exchange is plotting a £300m listed investment vehicle aimed at offering much-needed support to companies hit hard by the pandemic. David Schwimmer, LSE chief executive, has led talks with top City figures and Treasury figures about establishing an investment trust that would list on the index. It is understood the vehicle, dubbed [...]
Ministers to discuss hotel quarantine for UK arrivals January 23, 2021 Travellers returning to the UK could be forced to spend 10 days in quarantine in a hotel under plans being drawn up by the government. Ministers will meet on Monday to discuss tightening rules at UK borders amid fears about new mutant strains of the virus, according to media reports. The hotels would be staffed [...]
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 [...]
10.5m Brits could not last another month without income January 22, 2021 One in five of adults in the UK could not support their household for one month if they lost their source of income, a report revealed. After a third lockdown gripped the nation, 10.5m British adults have been found to have no financial buffer, digital financial coaching app Claro said today. With financial strain disproportionately [...]
Eurozone business activity shrinks sharply in January as lockdowns batter services January 22, 2021 Economic activity in the eurozone has plummeted in January as lockdown measures hit the bloc’s dominant service industry, a survey showed today. IHS Markit’s guide to economic health fell further below the 50 mark to 47.5 in January, a further dip from December’s 49.1. Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, believes a double-dip [...]
Pandemic costs: UK borrowing set to rise by another £31bn January 22, 2021 There has been a lot of chatter in recent months over the explosion in UK public debt as a result of the pandemic and the emergency measures taken by the UK government to support the economy. “This probably goes some way to explaining the rather erratic government response to the pandemic as the innate caution [...]
