Yahoo News Coronavirus: The 17 major developments that happened on Thursday
Here’s what you need to know on 27 August. This article was updated at 5.30pm.
Deaths: The government said 41,477 people had died in the UK within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday, an increase of 12 on the day before.
Policy: The government will pay people on low incomes to self-isolate if they are living in areas of local lockdowns. The payments will be the equivalent of £13 a day and come on top of any other benefits they are entitled to. Read more here.
Testing: A problem in test and trace means there were delays in contacting almost 2,000 people who were in contact with someone who tested positive. Read more here.
The Scottish and Welsh governments have bought hundreds of rapid coronavirus testing kits, which give a result within 12 minutes. One Scottish minister said it would revolutionise the fight against the virus. Read more here.
Business: Only 17% of workers in cities in Britain had returned to their offices by the beginning of August according to the Centre for Cities. The data is based on mobile phone signal, and has shown no change since the end of June. Read more here.
Pret a Manger said on Thursday that it would close 30 of its outlets and axe around 2,800 roles at the coffee and sandwich chain, almost triple the number of job cuts it had flagged only last month. The company, which cited the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and a huge drop-off in sales when it launched a two-month consultation process with employees, said that it had been “forced to take the difficult decision” to axe thousands of jobs. Read more here.
Crime: Police forces have handed out 46 fines to people refusing to wear face masks in England and Wales. Most of the penalties were given out on public transport. Read more here.
Travel: An air bridge between London and New York is being discussed at a senior level according to reports as New York’s infection rate comes down to 7.2 per 100,000. Britons returning from the US currently have to isolate for 14 days. Read more here.
Switzerland, Jamaica and the Czech Republic have been added to the UK’s quarantine list. Travellers arriving in the UK from the countries after 4am on Saturday will have to quarantine for 14 days. Read more here.
Sport: Manchester United player Paul Pogba has tested positive for coronavirus and been left out of the French squad for their upcoming match in the Nations League. Read more here.
Chelsea have eight players in quarantine, with six confirmed to have coronavirus. Two others have been in contact with someone who tested positive. Read more here.
Entertainment: The British Museum has become the latest to reopen to the public after the coronavirus lockdown. It was closed for more than 160 days.
Read more about COVID-19
How to get a coronavirus test if you have symptoms
What you can and can’t do under lockdown rules
In pictures: How UK school classrooms could look in new normal
How public transport could look after lockdown
How our public spaces will change in the future
Rest of the world
Italy has recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases since the country was in lockdown. There were 1,367 new cases on Wednesday, up from 878 on Tuesday, 953 on Monday and 1,210 on Sunday. Read more here.
South Korea has reported more than 400 new coronavirus cases in one day, making lockdown like restrictions look more likely. It was the highest single day total in months. Read more here.
As the winter months get nearer, a stark warning about a possible increase in coronavirus deaths has been issued by the World Health Organization (WHO). During a briefing on Thursday morning, WHO’s European regional director Hans Kluge warned that as youngsters stay in more during the colder months they may be more likely to spread coronavirus, especially if they visit multiple households. Read more here.
Positive news
Eat Out to Help Out might be coming to an end on Monday but there are some chain and independent restaurants across the UK who will keep it going, digging into their own pockets to subsidise customer bills. There are details here.
The UK labour market is showing early signs of recovery, according to new research by jobs site Reed.co.uk which saw 120,000 new postings added to the site in July — an 8% month-on-month increase. Job vacancies are beginning to rise in almost all sectors, with 34 out of 38 sectors listed on the site experiencing an increase between June and July. Read more here.
