30/03/20 COVID-19 Global News Update

The Australian government will on Monday promise to subsidise employee wages for up to six months, two sources familiar with the plan said, as it seeks to shelter the country’s economy from the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Supermarket chain Morrisons is to distribute £10m worth of food to the UK’s food banks during the coronavirus outbreak by producing more fresh items from its own manufacturing sites and bolstering deliveries from its stores.

The head of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has urged governments and central banks to do more to aid their economies threatened by the coronavirus crisis. On Sunday, Agustín Carstens, general manager of the BIS, an umbrella organisation founded to foster cooperation between the world’s central banks, said more ...

South Africa’s National Treasury said on Sunday it was introducing a new tax subsidy of 500 rand ($28) per month to employers for the next four months to cushion financial losses suffered by firms due to the coronavirus.

A group of 38 MPs has written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak urging him to take steps to support airlines during the coronavirus pandemic. Aviation bosses have been lobbying the government for a targeted aid package to stop firms going under as a result of the slump in travel demand.

The dramatic effect of the coronavirus on the British economy has posed serious challenges for the country’s companies and their employees.

Auto companies and suppliers around the world are ramping up production of critical healthcare products and machines - everything from cloth face masks to sophisticated ventilator systems - to meet a critical shortage of those items at hospitals and care facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.

The coronavirus has already driven the global economy into recession and countries must respond with “very massive” spending to avoid a cascade of bankruptcies and emerging market debt defaults, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Friday.

The UK is set for the deepest recession since the 2008 financial crisis as the coronavirus pandemic ravages the economy.

A £1.1bn funding package to help businesses come through the coronavirus crisis is set to be unveiled later. First Minister Mark Drakeford will announce the details at the Welsh Government's daily press conference.

UK economy can bounce back – but don't expect boom-boom Britain.

UK retailers have urged the government to approve billions of pounds worth of tax rebates to help cash flow as businesses battle to stay afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Thousands of UK pubs and restaurants could collapse due to coronavirus, as the latest research showed that insolvencies in the sector spiked before the outbreak.

The interim boss of the City watchdog is set to hold crisis talks tomorrow with the Bank of England and the heads of the high street banks to try and plot a course through the economic chaos triggered by coronavirus.

Britain’s big telecoms providers have agreed to remove all data caps on fixed-line broadband services that have become a lifeline for people isolated at home during the coronavirus crisis, the government said on Sunday.

The SNP is urging the UK government to "hit pause" on Brexit negotiations and seek to extend the transition period. It has urged the UK government to focus on the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 100 British companies have postponed or ditched dividend payments in a bid to preserve cash for what could be a lengthy enforced shutdown of large parts of the UK and global economy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Employees unable to take all their annual leave this year due to the coronavirus pandemic will be allowed to carry it over for two years, the business secretary announced on Saturday.

Journalism should be designated 'essential service' status and reporters considered key workers, report says.

Ratings agency Fitch cut Britain’s sovereign debt rating on Friday, saying the country’s debt levels would jump as the government ramped up its spending to offset the near shutdown of the economy in the face of coronavirus.

Italian restaurant chain Carluccio’s is in danger of collapse as it warned it was facing permanent branch closures. The company is working with administrators as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll.

British industry has thrown its weight behind the fight against Covid-19 in a wartime-style effort to churn out protective masks, hand sanitiser and medical ventilators.

Some people in the UK are still not getting the message about the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and the government needs to be more inventive with its information campaign, a police chief has said.

Volunteers are being sought by the Department of Education (DE) to help schools stay open during the coronavirus pandemic. Schools across NI are to remain open if possible to care for the children of key workers and vulnerable children.

Specialist units are operating to combat misinformation about coronavirus and five to ten incidents are being identified and tackled each day.

Tens of thousands of UK council staff are set to be redeployed in "critical" roles during the coronavirus crisis. Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered the closure of hundreds of local authority-run facilities from gyms to historic bath houses.

Domestic abuse victims are permitted to leave home to escape their partners or ask for help during the coronavirus lockdown, the home secretary has clarified.

Campaigners fear that EU citizens who have made their homes in the UK are at risk of becoming illegal as the government diverts resources to fight coronavirus. Under current rules, all EU citizens have until June 2021 to apply for settled status.

Strict limits on the number of students that each university in England can recruit are set to be imposed by the government in an effort to avoid a free-for-all on admissions, with institutions plunged into financial turmoil as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the Guardian has learned.

Some lockdown measures to combat coronavirus in Britain could last months and only be gradually lifted, a senior medical official said on Sunday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned the situation will get worse before it gets better.

A mental health charity has teamed up with academic institutions across the UK to monitor the psychological wellbeing of the nation as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps around the world.

The NHS failed a major stress test three years ago to see if it could cope with a severe pandemic, but the results were never made public.

Northern Ireland will introduce “sweeping new powers” to combat the spread of coronavirus from 2300 GMT on Saturday, with many restrictions on businesses tougher than the rest of the United Kingdom.

Boris Johnson is to write to 30m households across the UK to urge them to stay at home and protect the NHS. A letter from the Prime Minister will be posted to homes across all four UK nations from next week and outline the latest coronavirus advice.

The NHS has confirmed it is teaming up with leading tech firms to ensure critical medical equipment is available to the facilities most in need during the coronavirus outbreak..

Britain’s Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack has developed mild symptoms consistent with coronavirus and is self-isolating, a spokeswoman for his ministry said on Saturday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced on Friday they had tested positive for the virus.

Companies are losing time and business due to a lack of communication between the Welsh and UK governments, a business group says. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Wales said the problem must be resolved "as a matter of urgency" due to the problems caused by coronavirus.

Prisoners approaching the end of their sentences could be released from next week, as the Scottish government moves to prevent an “increasingly alarming” coronavirus crisis in the country’s jails.

NHS staff in England are set to be tested for coronavirus from this weekend in an effort to prevent frontline healthcare workers from being required to take unnecessary time off. Those with symptoms or in a household with people who have symptoms will be checked as a priority.

President Donald Trump has warned US coronavirus restrictions could stay in place until at least 30 April, extending measures such as social distancing. Trump had previously hinted at relaxing US coronavirus rules by Easter, which arrives on 12 April, to revive the economy.

China reported a drop in new coronavirus infections for a fourth day as drastic curbs on international travellers reined in the number of imported cases, while policymakers turned their efforts to healing the world’s second-largest economy.

South Korea reported 78 new coronavirus cases on Monday, keeping the rate of infections fairly steady, as President Moon Jae-in held an emergency meeting with economic policymakers to discuss financial support for the public.

Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez said on Sunday that the country would extend a mandatory nationwide quarantine period until the middle of April in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus that has killed over 30,000 people worldwide.

Australian officials will use fines and the threat of jail to enforce a new rule limiting public gatherings to two people, as the country’s coronavirus infection rate slowed but the death toll crept higher.

Germany’s 750 billion euro (669.8 billion pounds) package to soften the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak on Europe’s largest economy will last for about two months, an independent economics think tank told a German newspaper group.

Authorities in the Russian capital announced a partial lockdown, ordering residents to stay at home from Monday in their toughest move yet to slow the spread of coronavirus after the number of official cases in Moscow passed the 1,000 mark.

Spain prepared to enter its third week under near-total lockdown on Sunday, as the government approved a strengthening of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus and the death toll rose by 838 cases overnight to 6,528.

Saudi Arabia halted entry and exit into Jeddah governorate on Sunday, expanding lockdown rules as it reported four new deaths from a coronavirus outbreak that continues to spread in the region despite drastic measures to contain it.

Ireland’s government is to roll out a voluntary phone-tracking app to alert users if someone they have been in contact with develops COVID-19, its health service said on Sunday, two weeks before the pandemic is expected to peak in the country.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Canada will not allow anyone displaying symptoms of the COVID-19 respiratory illness to board domestic flights or inter-city passenger trains, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday, the latest travel restriction aimed at curbing the coronavirus outbreak. Trudeau’s government has long urged Canadians feeling ill to ...

The United Arab Emirates extended on Saturday to April 5 a nightly curfew to sterilise public places to combat the coronavirus as neighbouring Qatar reported its first death from the disease.

Ireland hopes to be in a position in two weeks to tweak or remove some of its new highly restrictive coronavirus-related measures if it can slow down the rate of admissions to intensive care units, Health Minister Simon Harris said.

Russia will close all border crossings on March 30, the government said on Saturday, tightening restrictions after the country reported its biggest one-day rise in new coronavirus cases.

As the coronavirus continues to spread, Unicef is reminding the public of the importance of hand washing as a key preventive measure, and urging renewed efforts around the world to provide access to this most basic of health interventions.

The criminal justice system is going into “meltdown” because of coronavirus and a huge backlog of cases caused by government cuts, lawyers have said.

Frequently asked questions on what you can and can’t do during the coronavirus outbreak.

People struggling with their mental health during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak will be offered additional online support and practical guidance to help them cope.

Non-statutory guidance for landlords, tenants and local authorities in the private and social rented sectors in the context of Coronavirus (COVID-19).