22/05/20 COVID-19 Global News Update

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia on Friday halved the number of people expected to be covered by its centrepiece wage subsidy scheme, a revision that will save the government around A$60 billion ($39 billion) but mean less stimulus as efforts to revive the economy ramp up. Australia’s conservative government said in ...

UK borrowing rose by £62.1bn in April alone as the government paid people’s wages and loaned businesses cash to survive the coronavirus lockdown, statistics showed today. Coronavirus measures like the job retention scheme to pay people’s wages, and coronavirus loans for businesses of all sizes, pushed UK borrowing to an ...

British retail sales fell by a record 18.1% in April as many stores were closed amid the coronavirus outbreak. The drop in April worsened from a fall of 5.2% in March, when the government first introduced lockdown measures. Clothing sales plummeted by 50.2% as many High Street shops were shut, ...

Consumer confidence has been “battered and bruised” by the coronavirus crisis, new research has found as optimism remained low despite the easing of lockdown restrictions. The latest data showed that confidence was at minus 34 as consumers were concerned about the economic impact of the pandemic, with unemployment claims rising ...

What's been happening to animals during lockdown.

An aviation tycoon has issued legal proceedings against two senior ministers over the government’s coronavirus lockdown measures. Simon Dolan has applied to the High Court for a judicial review of England’s lockdown, which he claims was introduced unlawfully and disproportionately breaches freedoms protected by the European Convention on Human Rights. ...

Facebook and New Zealand's Prime Minister are the latest supporters of flexible working as companies mull back-to-office strategies. On Thursday, Facebook said it plans to shift towards a more remote workforce as a long-term trend. New Zealand's PM Jacinda Ardern this week suggested a four-day working week, partly to boost ...

Some rural parts of the UK have seen a surge in job adverts posted, despite the coronavirus pandemic, one study suggests. Job postings in Breckland and South Norfolk jumped 8.7% between early and mid-May. Parts of Scotland and north-eastern England also saw an increase, according to the Recruitment & Employment ...

Homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage due to Coronavirus will be able to extend their mortgage payment holiday for a further three months, or start making reduced payments, in proposals published today.

UK scientists are to begin testing a treatment that it is hoped could counter the effects of Covid-19 in the most seriously ill patients. It has been found those with the most severe form of the disease have extremely low numbers of an immune cell called a T-cell. T-cells clear ...

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia, after bringing its coronavirus outbreak largely under control, said on Friday it is seeking an exemption from a requirement that travellers arriving in the UK quarantine for 14 days to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The British government is planning a 14-day quarantine for most people ...

Schoolgirls in India are facing a massive shortage of sanitary napkins because schools - a critical part of the supply chain - are closed during the coronavirus lockdown. This has left millions of teenagers across the country anxious, writes the BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi. For the past several years, ...

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Tokyo Games organisers face “real problems” staging the Olympics next year as coronavirus infections continue to soar, senior international Olympic official John Coates said. Coates, Australia’s Olympic chief and head of the International Olympic Committee’s inspectorate for Tokyo, said organisers had to assume there would be no ...

(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it has removed 27 makers of coronavirus antibody tests from its list of vendors who have notified the agency that they were selling a test and plan to apply for emergency use authorization. Under the FDA’s current rules, a ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United Nations rejected on Thursday an accusation by the United States that the world body was using the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to promote access to abortion through its humanitarian response to the deadly global outbreak. The U.N. is seeking some $6.7 billion for ...

The UK’s competition watchdog is investigating package holiday firm’s over their failure to refund customers for cancelled holidays. According to its latest statistics, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has received over 60,000 complaints from customers regarding the coronavirus crisis since 10 March. Read more: Public trust in airlines and ...

Play Beach crowds as countries ease lockdowns 16 May 2020 Tests and quarantine: Travelling to Greece 21 May 2020 How the super-rich spent lockdown 15 May 2020 Amsterdam trials 'Covid-safe' restaurant 15 May 2020 Spain enjoys first outdoor exercise freedom in weeks 2 May 2020 Film-makers show life in coronavirus ...

International travellers could be fined £1,000 if they fail to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival in the UK, the government is expected to announce. Under the plans, health officials would be able to carry out spot checks at private addresses to check whether people were complying. Home Secretary Priti ...