Here are five things you should know about the coronavirus outbreak this Tuesday night. We will have another update on Wednesday morning.
1. The virus will not go away at Christmas … or for years
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We must be realistic about the fact that the coronavirus is here for the long haul, top scientists have told parliamentarians. Even potentially successful vaccines and treatments will probably not be enough to eliminate it, and humanity will have to live with it for “the next few decades,” Professor Sir Jeremy Farrar of the Wellcome Trust explained to the Commons health selection committee. The disease will come and go, and we will need a continuous cycle of vaccines. It comes after the prime minister said last week that he expected a return to some sort of normalcy for Christmas.
2. EU leaders win huge recovery deal on the line
After four days of painstaking negotiations, the leaders of the European Union finally put together a € 750 billion (£ 677 billion) package to help the bloc countries rebuild their economies. A € 390 billion grant program will be made available to those most affected by the virus, countries like Italy and Spain, while another € 360 billion in low-interest loans will also be available to Member States. It is the largest joint loan agreed by the EU, and summit president Charles Michel described it as a “turning point” for Europe. For more information on the global impact of the pandemic, see our visual guide to coronavirus.
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Reuters
3. Back in the UK, loans hit a new record and property sales drop
The strain of the virus continues to be felt across the UK economy, with government loans hitting a record £ 127.9 billion between April and June, the first quarter of the financial year and the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. The figure, which is the difference between spending and tax revenue, was more than double the £ 55.4 billion loaned in the entire previous fiscal year. But loans in June were lower than in May, at £ 35.5 billion. Meanwhile, summer property sales were almost a third lower than in the same period last year, despite things improving in June when the market reopened. If you are thinking of buying a home, see what recent changes to the stamp tax might mean for you.
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PA Media
4. The nurse recovers from Covid coma of 40 days.
Nurse Ayesha Orlanda, 52, received an emotional delivery from the hospital after spending nine and a half weeks there. Bradford Royal Infirmary’s older sister became seriously ill with coronavirus and was eventually put on a ventilator. She said she was “one of the lucky ones” and felt that she had been given “a second chance at life”. Staff from four rooms gathered to applaud her when she left.
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5. Tea, coffee, cookies and a good book …
… that’s what we wanted most during the shutdown, according to market research firm Kantar. Britons who work from home spent an additional £ 24 million on tea and coffee, and an additional £ 19 million on cookies in the past three months, he said. We’ve also been reading a lot more, publisher Bloomsbury found, and book sales increased nearly a fifth compared to last year. Bestsellers included JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series and books related to the Black Lives Matter campaign.
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