MARKET REPORT: BP and Shell plummet as oil drops on Covid fears

Oil majors were on the back foot as the price of Brent crude tumbled below $40 a barrel for the first time since June. Fears are mounting that a rise in coronavirus cases around the world – including in the UK and US as well as parts of Europe and India – could hold back … Read more

Wales toilet roll factory is hit by Covid outbreak as ‘small number’ of workers test positive

A toilet roll factory has been hit by a Covid-19 outbreak after a ‘small number’ of workers tested positive.  The affected workers at the Kimberly-Clark’s Coleshill Mill in Flint, north Wales, are recovering at home. All employees who had worked closely with them are also self-isolating. Personal care company Kimberly-Clark’s brands include Kleenex, Kotex, Scott and Andrex and … Read more

NHS testing boss issues ‘heartfelt apology’ to people unable to get Covid tests

NHS testing boss issues ‘heartfelt apology’ to people unable to get Covid tests and blames lack of capacity at laboratories for backlog Sarah-Jane Marsh said laboratories processing tests are at a ‘critical pinch-point’ Ms Marsh added that the testing system is doing ‘all it can to expand quickly’ People say they were told there are … Read more

Theatre-goers and sport spectators could get 24-hour ‘Covid passes’

Theatre-goers and sport spectators could get 24-hour ‘Covid passes’ if they test negative allowing them to cram back into venues knowing they are safe Matt Hancock reveals government has thrown its weight behind new rapid tests Officials have been told to move at ‘extreme pace’ to get crowds back at events Mr Hancock says pregnancy-style … Read more

Spain becomes first country in western Europe to top 500,000 Covid cases

Spain became the first country in Western Europe to register 500,000 coronavirus infections on Monday, after a second surge in cases that coincided with schools reopening. Health Ministry data showed a total of 525,549 cases, up from 498,989 on Friday, and 2,440 infections registered in the last 24 hours.  Spain updates its data retroactively, so … Read more

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle insist Invictus Games fundraiser was axed because of Covid

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle insist glittering Invictus Games fundraiser to be shown on Amazon Prime was axed because of Covid and NOT their £112million deal with rivals Netflix The Invictus Game fundraiser in June 2021 was set to be streamed on Amazon Report claimed it was cancelled after Harry and Meghan signed Netflix deal  … Read more

UK arrivals to be tested for Covid ‘as soon as practical’, says Matt Hancock

Matt Hancock today insisted coronavirus testing for arrivals in the UK will be introduced ‘as soon as it is practical’. The Health Secretary said the government recognised how much strain the requirement for 14-day quarantine was putting on the travel industry. He warned that doing just one test at the airport ‘doesn’t work’ as too … Read more

Pope: Gossiping is “plague worse than COVID”

Pope Francis brands gossiping ‘a plague worse than Covid’ in off-script complaint during his weekly blessing Pope Francis claimed gossiping is ‘plague worse than Covid’ in weekly blessing Went on to call the devil the ‘biggest gossiper’ who seeks to divide the church Yesterday 1,000 people marched on Rome to protests face masks and vaccinations … Read more

UK records just three daily Covid deaths in lowest preliminary Sunday total since lockdown began 

A further three people have died after testing positive for coroanvirus in Britain, preliminary figures show. This figure brings the UK’s total death toll during the pandemic to 41,552.  The number is set to be much higher when the all settings figures – which include deaths in care homes and the wider community – are … Read more

Covid could now be endemic in poorer northern towns

Parts of northern England could be in the midst of a coronavirus endemic, according to leaked Public Health England documents. The analysis claims areas in north-west England where local lockdowns have been put in force – including Bolton, Manchester and Rochdale – ‘never really left the epidemic phase’. It says 90 per cent of Greater Manchester … Read more