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Boris Johnson has refused business calls for additional financial support, despite announcing a four-week delay in finally easing the blockade restrictions in England.
At a press conference on Downing Street, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom said “now is the time to slow down the accelerator” and said a prudent approach could “save thousands of lives by inserting millions more people”.
The move to a “four-step” plan to ease the government was delayed due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the first identified coronavirus in India. Nightclubs will remain closed, along with domestic demand, and restrictions will be maintained on internal socialization for another four weeks.
Next month, the NHS plans to offer two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to two-thirds of England’s adult population, including all over the age of 40. All adults will be offered a jab before relaxing.
Johnson described July 19 as the “end date” when all limits are about to end, but did not rule out further delays if the data suggests a risk of health services overflowing.
“I’m sure we won’t need more than four weeks and we won’t have to go beyond July 19. It’s clear that vaccines are definitely working and the scale of the spread has made our position perfect than in previous ways,” he said.
On Monday, there were 7,742 more cases of coronavirus and three more deaths. The prime minister said intensive care cases were on the rise and Covid-19 infections were growing by 64 per cent a week across the country.
Some senior ministers expressed private unhappiness with the delay, and a large number of Conservative councilors could have rebelled against the latest delay, citing the success of the UK’s rapid vaccination program.
With companies warning that the extension was “devastating” without further government support, the Johnson administration has already spent 407 billion euros to help businesses during the crisis.
The Federation of Small Businesses has called on ministers to delay the reduction of the furlough plan – which provides 80 per cent of the regular salary. He also called on the government to repay loans for businesses that are still closed and to extend the easing of rates for businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure.
“The business has spent thousands on food and beverage requests, ticket sales and marketing events for this date, and restaurants and bars have begun to recover lost revenue throughout the year,” said Craig Beaumont. external issues in the FSB.
Hospitality officials said the month-long delay would cost the sector £ 3bn in lost sales. The industry trade organization UKHospitality has said “further delays” will put 300,000 jobs at risk.
Johnson ruled out any change to the furlough scheme or business support. “We always made sure that the scheme, which runs until September, takes into account the full extent of the roadmap. The chancellor has always been very clear about that, “he said.” From what we can see in the data now, from the effectiveness of the vaccine, we don’t think we need to change that. “
Many companies need to rethink their intentions to return workers to their offices now that the government has said it will continue to ask people to work from home as much as possible.
KPMG said a four-day hybrid work plan was due to begin on June 21, but the delay “will be reflected in our approach and we will start when we think it is safe to do so.”
The Treasury is facing pressure to implement new aid to help companies that have suffered a new delay. The government announced in the spring that it would not retire in its entirety until the end of September.
A senior government official said he was still generous compared to other French countries, as companies now have to pay 25% of the salaries of those receiving state aid.
The official added that the government had set up a € 2 billion scheme for councils to distribute funds to companies in the hard-fought sectors, half of which had not yet been spent.
The UK is still considering a partial measure to extend the rental moratorium this week, which is to provide some support to the retail and hospitality sectors for landlords, who owe £ 6 billion to tenants who closed in on the pandemic.
The prime minister, however, made some concessions. The cap for those attending weddings will be raised from June 21 inside and outside the home, but social distance will be required, with no masks and dance floors.
According to medical and scientific consultants, Delta strain is between 40% and 80% more contagious than the first Alpha variant identified in Kent. The new Delta variant is growing by 70 per cent week-on-week in the UK.
But new data from Public Health England highlighted the effectiveness of the Delta variant of the two vaccines currently in use in the UK. According to the analysis, the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine is 96 percent effective against hospitalization, while the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 92 percent effective.
PHE immunization chief Mary Ramsay confirmed that the whirlwinds have provided Delta with “great protection”. “It is absolutely essential to get both doses as soon as they are offered to you in order to get maximum protection against all existing and emerging variants,” he said.
Johnson warned Sir Lindsay Hoyle, a spokesman for the House of Commons, that he had not first announced the changes to parliament, accusing the government of cheating.
“I find it totally unacceptable, once again, to see Downing Street against members of parliament,” he said.
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