Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

22 June 2020

A series of daily updates for CHO members regarding relevant updates pertaining to Coronavirus from home and abroad.

Key Announcements

• The Government will immediately tighten takeover laws to ensure British businesses critical to tackling the coronavirus pandemic are less susceptible to hostile foreign takeovers owing to the economic downturn .
• Boris Johnson is expected to announce on Tuesday whether the hospitality sector can reopen on 4 July and if the 2m distancing rule in England can be relaxed .
• Rishi Sunak is drawing up plans for deferred tax rises and cuts to public spending in his Autumn Budget after he delivers a further fiscal stimulus for the UK economy in the weeks ahead .
• A new “no swab” saliva coronavirus test that lets people collect their own sample at home by spitting into a pot is being trialled in the UK. More than 14,000 GP staff and other key workers, along with the people they live with, will take part .
• Doctors have warned that a “culture of fear” in the NHS may prevent life-saving lessons being learned about Covid-19 after a leading hospital consultant emailed scores of staff saying those responsible for “leaks” would be found and fired .

Regional/Devolved

• The Scottish Government’s transport secretary has told Good Morning Scotland that face coverings have been made mandatory on public transport because it’s expected that services will become busier as lockdown eases. “Face coverings can offer a limited level of additional protection in reducing community transmission of the virus when someone’s 2m space is compromised”, Michael Matheson said .
• Non-essential shops are reopening in Wales for the first time since coronavirus restrictions began .

International   

• The World Health Organization reported a record increases in global coronavirus cases on Sunday, with the total rising by 183,020 in a 24-hour period .
• Brazil has become the second country, after the US, to register more than 50,000 deaths from Covid-19 .
• Dubai will from July 7 open up to tourists as the emirate lifts coronavirus travel restrictions to revive its economy.
• The coronavirus is spreading in Pakistan at one of the fastest rates in the world, and overwhelmed hospitals are turning away patients, the Associated Press reports. But the Government is pushing ahead with opening up the country, trying to salvage a near-collapsed economy where millions have already slid into poverty from pandemic restrictions .
• Thailand has reported three new coronavirus cases, all imported, marking 28 days without local transmission, a senior official said .

Stakeholders    

• Children are developing serious mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress, because of the coronavirus pandemic, a charity has warned. In a report, the Childhood Trust says disadvantage is leaving children extremely vulnerable .
• More than one-third of the richest fifth in the country saw their savings increase in the first months of the crisis, the Resolution Foundation has found. But lower-income working-age families are more likely to have seen the amount they save each month fall, while lower-income households are twice as likely as richer ones to have increased their debts during the crisis, it said .
• Cineworld, the world’s second-largest cinema chain, has agreed the terms of a $250m secured debt facility, due to mature in 2023. This adds to covenant amendments and a revolving credit facility increase of $110m that it announced last month .
• Saga, the specialist in insurance and travel for the over 50s, plans to include treatment abroad for Covid-19 and repatriation to the UK as part of its travel insurance policies for all trips from June 1