UK

UK halts daily coronavirus deaths update after signs of a potential faulty data

Editorial Bureau July 18, 2020

LONDON (UK) – Britain said on Saturday that it was pausing its daily update of the death toll of people affected by the coronavirus in the United Kingdom in the light of the government demanding a review into the calculation of the data. This has come post concerns that the numbers might

UK

Johnson says people should use face masks in shops

Editorial Bureau July 13, 2020

LONDON (UK) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that people should wear masks in restricted spaces such as shops. It was also added that the government would inform more in the next few days about what “tools of enforcement” would be made use of. Johnson said, “Masks have a great deal of […]

UK

Boohoo in defense of its supply chain practices after Leicester report

Editorial Bureau July 2, 2020

LONDON (UK) – Britain’s Boohoo defended its business practices on Thursday after a garment workers’ rights group said the online fashion retailer was putting workers at Leicester factories supplying the group under threat of coronavirus infection. The allegations came after Britain enforced strict lockdown on the East Midlands city this week post a local

UK

PM Johnson eases coronavirus lockdown thanks to reduced infections

Ren Leen June 23, 2020

LONDON (UK) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled a significant easing of England’s coronavirus lockdown on Tuesday, saying it had been allowed by a decline in the number of new infections and the belief that currently there is no risk of a second peak. “The number of new infections is now declining by between two […]

UK

UK grocery sales growth accelerates to 19% – Kantar

Ren Leen June 23, 2020

LONDON (UK) – Growth in grocery sales in Britain accelerated to 18.9% in the four weeks to June 14, driven by the popularity of online and convenience stores during the coronavirus lockdown, industry data showed on Tuesday. Market researcher Kantar said online sales rose 91% year-on-year over the four weeks. It said that over the […]

UK

Britain might need to tweak pensions promise for COVID effects: Lawmaker

Ren Leen June 19, 2020

LONDON (UK) – Britain’s government might have to temporarily put on hold the way that growth in wages are included in the country’s “triple lock” system for calculating increases in the state pension, the head of parliament’s Treasury Committee said on Friday. Pensions stand to go up very sharply because of an expected leap in […]

UK

UK shoppers begin to spend again, but public borrowing hits record

Ren Leen June 19, 2020

LONDON (UK) – Shoppers in the UK bought much more than expected in May as the country gradually relaxed its curbs and online retailers boomed, pointing to signs that the economy is moving away from its historic crash in March and April. Official data also showed public borrowing hit a record high as the government […]

UK

UK to use Google-Apple model for COVID-19 test-and-trace app

Ren Leen June 19, 2020

LONDON (UK) – Britain will adopt the Apple and Google model for its COVID-19 test-and-trace app, abandoning an attempt to develop an app by itself after the homegrown system did not work satisfactorily on Apple’s iPhone, the government said on Thursday. The test-and-trace programme is instrumental to reopening the country but it has been dogged […]

UK

64,000 excess deaths during pandemic reported in UK

Jim Stein June 9, 2020

LONDON (UK) – Approximately 64,000 more lives have been claimed in the UK during this year’s coronavirus pandemic, according to an expert from the Office for National Statistics. Epidemiologists announced that excess mortality is the best way to estimate the number to have died from a disease outbreak because it is internationally comparable. (Photo syndicated

UK

UK quarantine to go ahead; ‘air bridges’ a possibility

Jim Stein June 1, 2020

LONDON (UK) – Britain still intends to go ahead with a COVID-19 quarantine later this month for those arriving in the United Kingdom but is looking at “air bridges” with certain countries, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said on Monday. “It’s something we’ve said we’re looking at and that remains the case,” the