21/04/20 COVID-19 Global News Update

Hundreds of Amazon warehouse workers across the US will refuse to show up for work this week by calling in sick, marking the largest nationwide protest effort so far against the company’s coronavirus response.

(Reuters) - Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) said on Monday it would provide cash advances to small businesses in Canada that are struggling due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the global economy.

The economy minister has confirmed that all eligible farmers can apply for support under a government scheme to help the self employed cope with the fallout from coronavirus.

Some airports are "at risk" of closure because of the loss of business in the coronavirus pandemic, experts have warned.

High street restaurant bosses have asked the chancellor for a nine-month rent holiday to help them survive the coronavirus crisis.

UK government borrowing could hit £300bn this year as tax receipts collapse and the Treasury pumps money into the economy to tackle the fallout from coronavirus, according to a new report.

Football in England must think creatively or risk dire consequences, including civil war within clubs, says Fleetwood chairman Andy Pilley.

LONDON (Reuters) - British state-backed lender NatWest (RBS.L) is pressing ahead with further job cuts, axing more than 30 jobs in its digital ventures arm despite rivals halting redundancies during the coronavirus crisis.

LONDON (Reuters) - British employers have put more than a million staff on temporary leave due to the coronavirus, finance minister Rishi Sunak said, reporting a flood of applications since the government’s costliest programme to support the economy opened.

About 20,000 Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) workers - half of its staff - have been furloughed because of the pandemic.

NHS supplies of face masks could be put at risk if the government starts advising the public to wear them, hospital bosses have warned.

The House of Commons has been trying out its new working arrangements in preparation for MPs' return later.

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it took down more than 2,000 online coronavirus scams last month.

Dentists in England are facing "critical shortages" in personal protective equipment (PPE), forcing patients with urgent problems to "take matters into their own hands", says an organisation representing UK dentists.

All Commons debates should be held virtually, Plaid Cymru has said.

GCHQ is asking members of the public to report suspicious emails they have received amid a wave of scams and hacking attacks that seek to exploit fear of Covid-19 to enrich cybercriminals.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia will relax restrictions on elective surgeries after slowing the spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong’s government will extend restrictions aimed at tackling the coronavirus for another 14 days to preserve the city’s success in keeping the number of cases down, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that any lifting of lockdowns to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus must be gradual, and if restrictions were to be relaxed too soon, there would be a resurgence of infections.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that it is not possible to determine the precise source of the new coronavirus at this stage.

Democratic governors have asked the White House to urge Americans to heed stay-at-home orders amid anti-lockdown protests

SOFIA (Reuters) - Developing countries may be the hardest hit economically by the coronavirus, International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday, adding the IMF stands ready to help.

The letter thanks councils again for their efforts responding to the coronavirus pandemic and provides further details on the support the government is providing.