Summary for Sunday, 28th February
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Recent developments from around the world:
The new £5bn grant scheme for High Street businesses in England will help shops and pubs reopen as England eases lockdown. The devolved nations will receive equivalent extra funding.
Mr Sunak tells the Mail on Sunday it had been an "incredibly difficult year for our High Streets" and the new money will provide businesses "the support they need to get them through”.
Non-essential shops in England, along with outdoor hospitality, will be allowed to reopen from 12 April at the earliest.
The one-off payment has been broadly welcomed by businesses, but some groups have said it does not go far enough.
Helen Dickinson, of the British Retail Consortium, which represents chain stores, says the latest money is a "vital injection of funding" but warns it will "only provide temporary relief" if the business rate holiday does not continue.
Last year was the worst for the High Street in more than 25 years as the pandemic accelerated the move towards online shopping, with more than 180,000 jobs lost in retail alone, according to the Centre for Retail Research.
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- Rishi Sunak tells the BBC's Andrew Marr Show there has been a massive shock to the economy and his priority is to support Britain through the crisis
- The Chancellor, who will outline his Budget on Wednesday, says the UK's level of debt is "going to take time" to decrease
- He has announced a new £5bn grant scheme for High Street businesses in England
- There is no evidence of any new variants of coronavirus in the UK at the moment, the chancellor says
- The single-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine becomes the third jab to be authorised in the US
- The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge urge people to get the Covid vaccine, saying it is "really important"
- People aged 60 to 63 in England are due to start getting their vaccination invites from Monday
- A senior German immunologist urges his country to change its mind and start allowing over-65s to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine
Good morning
Welcome to today’s live page. To start with, here is a summary of this morning's main headlines.- Nearly 700,000 shops, restaurants, hotels, hair salons, gyms and other businesses in England, will be eligible for so-called "restart grants" to "get them back on their feet” post-pandemic. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the grants, worth up to £18,000 per firm, will help shops and pubs reopen as England eases lockdown. He'll be speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show from 09:00 GMT
- Free Covid tests will be offered to the families of all pupils in England under plans to reopen schools from 8 March. Home testing for secondary pupils will be twice weekly, with parents expected to continue the testing at home after three tests in school. Public Health England says testing will help "uncover hidden cases" and break chains of transmission
- US regulators have formally approved the single-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.The vaccine is set to be a cost-effective alternative to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and can be stored in a refrigerator instead of a freezer. Trials have found it is 66% effective overall when moderate cases are included. The first doses could be available to the US public as early as next week
- A senior German immunologist is urging his country to change its mind and start allowing over-65s to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Germany is one of several EU states that have expressed doubts over the efficacy of the jab in older people, but recent studies in Scotland found hospital admissions were reduced by 94% four weeks after the first dose
- The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been urging people to get the Covid vaccine, saying it is "really important". During a video call with two women who have been shielding since last March, Prince William says the uptake so far had been "amazing" - but adds: "We've got to keep it going”. The Prince also warns against fake news about the jab on social media.
What the papers say
There is concern in some of Sunday's papers about what Chancellor Rishi Sunak may be preparing to include in his Budget on Wednesday.- The Sunday Times fears what it calls "stealth tax" rises - freezing income tax allowances.
- The Sunday Telegraph warns against what it sees as a "devastating" move towards a "pro-tax philosophy".
- It picks up on a report, as do the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, by the Tax Payers' Alliance, that since coming to power a decade ago the Conservatives have made more than 1,000 tax rises.
- The Sunday Express and Sun on Sunday both focus on the £5bn fund for pubs, restaurants and high street shops, with the Express dubbing the chancellor's plan the "bounce back budget".
- The Mail on Sunday reports on findings that suggest a single dose of either the Pfizer-BioNtech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine reduces the risk of a person needing hospital treatment for Covid by more than 90%.
- And many front pages pay tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore whose funeral took place yesterday, picturing his coffin wrapped in the union flag being carried by members of the Armed Forces.
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Recent developments from around the world:
- Nearly 20m have received the first dose of a Covid vaccine in the UK. More than 20 million people in the UK have received at least a first dose of coronavirus vaccine, with under 4% of those given as second doses.Government data shows that of the 20.5m jabs given in the UK up to 26 February, 19.6m were first doses.
- Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city, woke up on Sunday morning to a second lockdown in a month as health authorities try to rein in a coronavirus cluster of the more contagious UK variant.
- The US Food and Drug Administration has authorized Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine for emergency use, making it the third vaccine available to the US public and securing another vital step in the US fight to control Covid-19.
- Hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters clashed with police in Dublin. Ireland’s premier has slammed the “thuggish behaviour” and attacks on Irish police as anti-lockdown protesters stormed Dublin city centre, PA Media.
- All English households with school children offered twice weekly tests. All households in England with school or college aged children will be offered two rapid Covid tests per person per week to support the government’s priority to get young people back in the classroom, the health ministry said on Sunday.
- The first AstraZeneca shipment arrived in Sydney. The first shipment of 300,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses has landed in Sydney on Sunday, paving the way for the first major expansion of Australia’s rollout of the jab.
- Thailand started its Covid vaccination campaign. Thailand kicked off its Covid inoculation campaign on Sunday, with cabinet ministers, health officials and medical professionals among the first in the queue to receive vaccinations.
- Europe less at risk of inflation and rate fears: analysts. Investors are watching inflation carefully, worried that a boiling over of prices will ruin the expected strong pandemic recovery although analysts believe Europe faces much less of a risk than the United States.
£5bn fund to help High Street recover from Covid
Nearly 700,000 shops, restaurants, hotels, hair salons, gyms and other businesses in England, will be eligible for so-called "restart grants" to "get them back on their feet” post-pandemic, Chancellor Rishi Sunak says.The new £5bn grant scheme for High Street businesses in England will help shops and pubs reopen as England eases lockdown. The devolved nations will receive equivalent extra funding.
Mr Sunak tells the Mail on Sunday it had been an "incredibly difficult year for our High Streets" and the new money will provide businesses "the support they need to get them through”.
Non-essential shops in England, along with outdoor hospitality, will be allowed to reopen from 12 April at the earliest.
The one-off payment has been broadly welcomed by businesses, but some groups have said it does not go far enough.
Helen Dickinson, of the British Retail Consortium, which represents chain stores, says the latest money is a "vital injection of funding" but warns it will "only provide temporary relief" if the business rate holiday does not continue.
Last year was the worst for the High Street in more than 25 years as the pandemic accelerated the move towards online shopping, with more than 180,000 jobs lost in retail alone, according to the Centre for Retail Research.
Read more.