BRITS will be allowed to take unlimited outdoor exercise from today as new lockdown rules come into force.
People can now also go out and meet up with one other person from outside their household while builders and factory workers are encouraged to go back to work - as long as Covid-19 safety measures are in place.
But Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that "big, lavish, international" summer holidays could be cancelled this year.
Employers could be prosecuted if they breach social distancing guidelines, government agency Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned.
HSE boss Sarah Albon said employers who put workers in danger of contracting coronavirus could also have their businesses closed or restricted by inspectors until standards are met.
It came as the coronavirus death toll in the UK increased to 32,692 after 627 more fatalities.
However, new figures show the death toll is as high as 40,383 once figures from Scotland and Northern Ireland are figured in, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
On Tuesday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the furlough scheme will be extended until the end of October.
The job-retention scheme will remain the same until July, but after August there will be changes, including the ability to be able to pay people part-time instead.
Mr Sunak said businesses will be expected to start contributing to help tackle the burden on the taxpayer from August.
The furlough scheme is currently paying 7.5 million workers 80 per cent of their wages - up to a limit of £2,500 per month. It currently costs £14billion a month.
Full details on the scheme will be released before the end of May, Mr Sunak confirmed.
GP STILL WORKING AT 84 DIES OF CORONAVIRUS
An 'extraordinary' GP, who was still working at the age of 84, has become the ninth family doctor to die from coronavirus.
Dr Karamat Mirza, who was raised in Pakistan by a family of doctors before moving to England in 1966, was still treating patients up until two weeks ago.
But last Monday, Dr Mirza was taken to hospital after both he and his wife of 48 years, nurse Estelle, 71, tested positive for coronavirus having developed symptoms.
Mrs Mirza recovered, but her husband’s condition rapidly deteriorated while being cared for on a Covid-19 ward, and on Sunday, Mr Mirza sadly passed away at Colchester Hospital.
Dr Mirza, based in Clacton on Sea in Essex, became the fifth GP from the county to die from coronavirus
His wife, who has also worked at the Old Road Medical Practice in Clacton for the previous ten years, urged the people of Clacton to remember him for the man and community figure he was, and not just as another virus victim.
“The whole town has been left in shock and is grieving, and I can’t believe it,” she said.

VIRUS CRISIS COULD COST TAXPAYERS £300 BILLION
The coronavirus crisis could cost taxpayers an estimated £300billion and may require an increase in taxes, according to Treasury documents.
The impact of the crisis could also bring about an end to the triple lock on state pensions and a two-year freeze on public sector pay.
The document, dated May 5, was drawn up by officials for Chancellor Rishi Sunak and labelled “Official – market sensitive”, the Telegraph reported.
It said that, under the scenario considered most likely, the country's budget deficit this year would be £337billion, as opposed to the £55billion forecast in March's budget.
TORY MP WARNS OF SECOND LOCKDOWN
Grant Shapps warned that the Government will have to “take steps” if too many people try to use the public transport system.
The Transport Secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “If we see the R number go up again – particularly above one – we will have to take steps. We all know what that means – it means going back to staying at home.
“We have got a big team of marshallers going out through Network Rail, Transport for London, we have got the British Transport Police out there, and we are even bringing in volunteers to remind people that we don't want to see platforms crowded.”
UK ECONOMY DROPS AT FASTEST PACE SINCE FINANCIAL CRISIS
The UK economy shrank by 2 per cent in the first quarter of this year amid the coronavirus crisis.
It's the worst quarter fall since the height of the financial crash at the end of 2008, shocking new statistics show.
Meanwhile, the economy plunged 5.8 per cent in March as businesses shut down and Brits were furloughed, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.
The latest figures show the first direct effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the UK economy after the country was placed in lockdown to control the spread of the virus.
But with the lockdown only coming into place on March 23, the figures only include one full week of lockdown.
The full hit on the economy won't show until the second quarter's results are revealed.

PLUMBER WHO BACKED BORIS SAYS 'USE COMMON SENSE AND GET BACK TO WORK'
A 21-year-old plumber from Surrey who previously backed Boris Johnson's lockdown-easing plans has told Brits: “If you use your common sense, it’s safe to go back to work.”
The no-nonsense 31-year-old made headlines yesterday after appearing on Channel 4 News backing Boris Johnson’s lockdown plan, insisting it was not “hard to understand”.
And he added: “I’m not sure what you want? A full handbook to tell you what to do?”

No comments:
Post a comment