08/04/20 COVID-19 Global News Update

A doughnut cooked up in Oxford will guide Amsterdam out of the economic mess left by the coronavirus pandemic.

Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter and payment app Square, has said he will donate $1bn (£810m) towards efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

The disruption to the world’s economies caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to wipe out 6.7% of working hours globally in the second quarter of this year – the equivalent of 195 million jobs worldwide, according the UN’s labour body.

(Reuters) - Many small businesses were struggling with funding shortfalls and financial challenges even before the coronavirus pandemic hit, leaving them with little cash on hand to weather the slowdown caused by the virus, according to data released by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will sell a record amount of extra bonds this fiscal year, worth more than $165 billion, straining the industrial world’s heaviest debt burden, as Tokyo compiles a record stimulus to combat the coronavirus.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers hope to agree on Tuesday on half a trillion euros worth of economic aid to finance recovery from the coronavirus

Tesco warned it could take a hit of up to £925m due to the impact of hiring extra staff and ramping up distribution due to the coronavirus outbreak.

April 8 (Reuters) - Direct Line decided not to pay its final 2019 dividend on Wednesday and said it would make no changes to staffing until at least the autumn as it weighs the damage the coronavirus shutdowns has had on the insurance industry.

Almost 80% of businesses surveyed by the NI Chamber of Commerce plan to furlough some employees over the next week.

The Scottish economy could contract by up to a quarter if the current lockdown restrictions continue for a three-month period, according to economists.

Almost two-thirds of British businesses do not have enough cash to last three months as firms continue to struggle to access the government’s coronavirus loan scheme.

The failure of the coronavirus loan programme to help struggling small and medium-sized businesses risks triggering a “wall of redundancies and defaults” say critics.

Holland & Barrett has kept its shops open during the coronavirus crisis, but staff are campaigning for them to shut arguing their health is at risk.

(Reuters) - Following is a list of English clubs that have furloughed staff after professional football in the country was suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The chief executive of Bet365 has donated £10m to an NHS trust to support staff fighting coronavirus.

Boris Johnson is spending a second night in intensive care as he continues to receive treatment for coronavirus.

LONDON (Reuters) - The first patients have been admitted to the new Nightingale Hospital in London, which has been set up in just nine days at the Excel Exhibition Centre to handle the coronavirus crisis.

The foreign secretary also declined to say how the government planned to meet the commitment.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong said on Wednesday social-distancing restrictions including the closure of some bars and pubs and a ban on public gatherings of more than four people would be extended until April 23 as it battles to halt the spread of coronavirus.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s public health authority launched a smartwatch app on Tuesday in partnership with healthtech startup Thryve to help monitor the spread of COVID-19 and analyse whether measures to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic are working.

The acting secretary of the US Navy has resigned amid uproar over his handling of a coronavirus outbreak on an aircraft carrier.

(Reuters) - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said on Tuesday it was increasing production limits by 15% for certain controlled substance medicines that were in high demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

LONDON (Reuters) - A leading global health fund has asked international businesses and governments to provide $8 billion (6.49 billion pounds) to support development and production of COVID-19 tests, drugs and vaccines.

The months-long lockdown in the city of Wuhan in China's Hubei province - where the coronavirus pandemic started - has been lifted.

America's pastime could be the first professional sport to resume in the US under a reported plan that would see Major League Baseball games played in empty stadiums as early as May.

Gardaí (Irish police) have been granted powers to enforce restrictions on public life in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Health Minister Simon Harris has signed regulations which will enable officers to enforce the rules.

Advice for employers on social distancing during coronavirus (COVID-19).

Guidance to help with running your charity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.