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Boris Johnson announces closure of all UK pubs and restaurants Cafes, gyms and leisure centres also told to shut from Friday evening because of Covid-19 Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBoris Johnson took the extraordinary step of ordering pubs, clubs and restaurants across the UK to close on Friday, and announced an unprecedented wage-support scheme to try to prevent a tsunami of job losses.Announcing the decision in the fight against the coronavirus, the prime minister said that he realised it went against what he called “the inalienable free-born right of people born in England to go to the pub”. Continue reading... Go to Source

Coronavirus live updates: global cases top quarter of a million, as Italy sees biggest daily rise in deaths Death toll in Spain reaches 1,000 as Germany threatens further curfews and UK government discusses new London clampdownItaly and Spain record highest single-day death tollsNew York announces all non-essential workers must stay homeThe week explained | Sign up for our weekly newsletter See all our coronavirus coverage 11.03pm GMTPence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, has said the vice president’s office office was notified about the staffer’s positive test on Friday evening. The statement did not name the individual.“Further contact tracing is being conducted in accordance with CDC guidelines,” she said, referring to the Centers for Disease Control and...

Trump throws tantrum over question about coronavirus fears: 'You're a terrible reporter' President rails against NBC journalist’s ‘nasty question’Trump announces new immigration restrictionsUS coronavirus news – live updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageDonald Trump has thrown an extraordinary temper tantrum on live television, lambasting a reporter who challenged him for raising hopes about a coronavirus treatment. Related: States ask Trump to deploy military to help fight coronavirus pandemic Continue reading... Go to Source

As fearful Britain shuts down, coronavirus has transformed everything It’s too early to say whether the country is united but the cracks are beginning to showCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageHas the national life of this country ever been transformed so completely and at such a speed? In the course of a week, the British landscape has changed and changed utterly. Once crowded streets are deserted. Schools are closed, summer exams cancelled. Football grounds are shuttered and padlocked. Theatres are dark, cinemas silent. They’ve even stopped changing the guard at Buckingham Palace – and from Friday night the pubs are shut.The economy has juddered into reverse, set to shrink by 15% according to some estimates – a collapse more catas...

Last orders: the reaction in pubs to the Covid-19 shutdown How did drinkers and publicans feel about Boris Johnson’s Friday night announcement?Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageLondonPubs in Penge, south-east London, had started filling up well before the prime minister’s announcement that they must close down – and no one showed signs of leaving. Continue reading... Go to Source

UK coronavirus live: restaurants, pubs and gyms to close tonight; government to pay 80% of wages of those not working All the day’s developments as UK death toll reaches 177 and government announces new clampdown alongside financial easingGovernment to pay up to 80% of wages in outbreakJohnson announces closure of all UK pubs and restaurantsItaly sees biggest day-to-day rise in deaths‘Don’t take any chances’: warning of woman with Covid-19The week explained | Sign up for our newsletter 5.45pm GMTThe communities secretary Robert Jenrick has said the new social distancing measures announced by the Prime Minister will be in place for 14 days then reviewed, and has also provided a definitive list of places that are to close. These are:(1/2) We’ve made the decis...

Coronavirus live updates: California governor issues statewide 'stay at home' order as Italy deaths pass China A stark warning from America’s most populous state – but UK researchers signal hope of vaccine this year. Follow the latest newsFollow our Australia coronavirus live blogItaly becomes country with most deathsTrump sows confusion with treatment claimSee all our coronavirus coverage 5.46am GMTOur Africa correspondent, Jason Burke, has been looking at how the continent’s fragile health systems might cope with a sustained outbreak of the virus.He’s spoken to officials in Nigeria where they are scrambling to add isolation beds and provide more specialised medical training and equipment at state hospitals. Related: Africa's fragile health systems rush to conta...

Key worker: official list of UK personnel who can still send children to school Those working to provide essential goods and services are exempt from general closure of schoolsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe Department for Education has published a list of “key workers” whose children will be prioritised for schooling during general closures because of coronavirus. Schools are being asked to continue to provide care for a number of children but will be closed to the majority from Monday 23 March. Continue reading... Go to Source

Coronavirus credit crunch could make 2008 look like 'child's play' Experts warn companies that have gorged on cheap money for the past decade face going out of businessCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA worldwide credit crunch triggered by the coronavirus will set in motion a wave of corporate bankruptcies that will make the global financial crisis look like “child’s play”, investors have warned.With the world’s most advanced economies all entering a shutdown that could last months, companies that have gorged on cheap money for the past decade face going out of business thanks to a huge spike in borrowing costs on international money markets. Continue reading... Go to Source

Trials to begin on Covid-19 vaccine in UK next month Researchers hope to conduct animal tests next week and safety trials as early as next monthCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA massive effort is under way to develop a UK vaccine for coronavirus within monthsand make it available to save lives before the end of the year, the Guardian has learned.Researchers at Oxford University, led by Prof Sarah Gilbert, are planning a safety trial on humans of what is expected to be the UK’s first coronavirus vaccine next month. Provided that it goes smoothly, they will move directly into a larger trial to assess how effective the vaccine is at protecting against the infection. Continue reading... Go to Source