Coronavirus new: Starmer blames government ‘failures’ for new restrictions as UK sees 6,000 new cases

Coronavirus will dampen growth in some countries for years, IMF official warns

The coronavirus crisis is lasting longer than expected and it will take some countries years to return to growth, the No 2 official at the International Monetary Fund has said.

The Fund has provided some $90bn (£70bn) in emergency financing to almost 80 countries, but is continuing to work with member countries on how to contain the pandemic and mitigate its economic impact, first deputy managing director Geoffrey Okamoto told an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Wednesday.

"We're trying to preserve our financial firepower," Mr Okamoto said, adding, "We're talking about a ... return to growth that's going to take a few years, and many countries along the way that are probably going to need assistance."

How can Rishi Sunak protect jobs when furlough scheme ends?

With new restrictions announced this week designed to slow a worrying rise in coronavirus cases, pressure is mounting on Rishi Sunak to introduce additional support for jobs and businesses.

Industry groups, unions, businesses and MPs have all warned that failing to extend or replace the furlough scheme in particular will lead to hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs.

Now, with pubs and restaurants, which provide employment for large numbers of people, forced to close at 10pm and further restrictions considered possible if not likely, the chancellor is ready to act.

He is due to make a statement to the House of Commons on Thursday outlining plans to protect jobs.

Ben Chapman asks: But what options are being considered and what might they mean for workers and business owners?

Keir Starmer blames government failures for new restrictions

In his first televised address to the nation the Labour leader repeated his rhetoric in the Commons yesterday that “the return of restrictions are not an act of God, they’re a failure of government”.

Sir Keir Starmer said the new restrictions are necessary but “were not inevitable”, adding: "The British people have done everything asked of them. But I'm afraid the Government has not.

"We're a great country. We shouldn't have one of the highest death rates in the world, or one of the worst recessions.

“It's a national scandal that we still don't have a testing system that works.”

He called for a plan B for the economy, “because it makes no sense to bring in new restrictions at the same time as phasing out support for jobs and businesses”.

“There was nothing in the prime minister’s statement last night to protect people’s jobs, businesses or our town centres and high streets,” Sir Keir added. “No clarity about what happens when the furlough scheme ends. That’s a huge gap and huge mistake and it could lead to a wave of job losses this winter.”

Laws increasing fines for failing to wear face covering published

Laws increasing the fines for failing to wear a face covering, which come into force on Thursday, have been published.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place and on Public Transport) (England) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2020 also widens the scope on where people are required to wear them.

It said the existing laws are amended to include theatres, restaurants, bars and pubs in the list of places where members of the public must wear face coverings, or face a fine of £200 for the first offence, rising to £6,400 for repeat offences.

The exemption is when they need to remove it to eat or drink.

It also requires staff and anyone else providing a service in shops, cafes, restaurants, bars and pubs to wear face coverings when they are in close proximity to members of the public unless they are exempt or have a reasonable excuse.

Coronavirus sniffer dogs deployed at Helsinki airport as UK trial ongoing

Trialling of the scheme which involves sniffer dogs detecting coronavirus on passengers began today at Helsinki airport.

The experiment follows research by the University of Helsinki’s veterinary faculty which suggested that dogs can detect Covid-19 with almost 100 per cent certainty.

The trial involves 16 dogs with four being deployed per shift, all from WiseNose, a small non-profit detection agency in Finland.

Finnish airport operator Finavia said, “We are among the pioneers. As far as we know no other airport has attempted to use canine scent detection on such a large scale against Covid-19.”

They added" “This might be an additional step forward on the way to beating Covid-19.”

Nicola Sturgeon writes to Boris Johnson calling for urgent talks to tackle spread of virus

Nicola Sturgeon has written to the prime minister, Boris Johnson, calling for urgent four-nation talks to tackle the spread of coronavirus.

The first minister has pointed to scientific opinion that bringing the virus back under control will require measures beyond those announced so far.

The letter also highlights that devolved administrations' ability to take action is curtailed by a lack of financial levers to deliver economic support.

France unveils coronavirus ‘danger zones’ map

France's health minister has unveiled a map of coronavirus "danger zones" around the country and gave the hardest-hit local authorities, including that of Marseille, days to tighten restrictions or risk having a state of health emergency declared there.

Olivier Veran told a news conference the country would be divided into zones by alert level with Marseille, the second-largest city, and the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe for now the only two areas put on the "maximum" alert level.

Paris and its suburbs but also the northern city of Lille, the southwestern town of Toulouse and six other cities were declared "reinforced danger zones", Mr Veran added.

"Should the sanitary situation worsen further in those areas, then a state of health emergency would be put in place", the minister said.

Brazil records over 33,000 new cases

Brazil recorded 33,281 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, as well as 869 deaths from the disease, the Health Ministry has announced.

Brazil has registered more than 4.6 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 138,977, according to ministry data.

From Amazon and Zoom to your local corner shop: The businesses thriving after six months of lockdown

Reasons to be cheerful have been few and far between for British businesses these past six months, writes Ben Chapman.

In the 26 weeks since Boris Johnson ushered in lockdown with a solemn address to the nation, economic news has been almost relentlessly grim.

An uncontrolled virus has meant uncertainty, job cuts and — with new restrictions introduced this week — little sign of an end in sight. But in amongst the gloom, some companies are thriving, reinventing themselves and growing.

Changes to our habits are, it increasingly seems, here to stay: How we shop, exercise and work; where we choose to live, where we go, and the mode of transport we use to get there.

While this upheaval has undoubtedly hurt a lot of businesses and livelihoods, it has presented opportunities too, not least for those companies able to help us live our more socially distanced lives.

Coronavirus false positives: How many are there and is it actually an issue?

As coronavirus cases once again begin to surge across the UK, the issue of false positive test results has once again been raised, Anthony Cuthbertson writes.

Politicians and scientific advisers have warned that rising case numbers could be attributed, at least partly, to the problem.

Conservative MP Desmond Swayne warned in parliament this week that they were “giving a distorted impression of the trajectory of the disease.”

He said: “It doesn’t take a mathematician to tell you that a relatively small percentage of false positives will have a significant impact on our estimate of how many people are infected.”

A number of journalists and public figures have jumped on this to spread a theory that false positives test results actually account for more than 90 per cent of all positive results in the country.

So what exactly is the problem with false positives and how much heed should be paid to them when assessing the UK’s response to the pandemic.