Coronavirus
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Dec- 2020 -9 December
Hong Kong jewellery shows postponed till July 2021
HKTDC has announced that The Hong Kong International Jewellery Show will be rescheduled to July 2021 attributed to both Covid-19 and lockdown restrictions. The show was scheduled to take place in March 2020 but has since been postponed throughout the year on multiple occasions with it now officially due to…
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Nov- 2020 -26 November
New Tier system announced
The Government has announced a new Tier system for when England leaves lockdown on 2 December, with only areas in Tier 1 allowed to revert back to the ‘rule of six’. Making the announcement to the House of Commons, health secretary Matt Hancock revealed that the new Tier 3 restrictions…
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23 November
PM outlines Covid Winter Plan
Boris Johnson has unveiled his ‘Covid Winter Plan’ in the House of Commons this afternoon, whilst outlining England’s return to a three tier system He confirmed that national restrictions in England will end on 2 December and will “not be renewed”. This will mean that non-essential retail, gyms and the…
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9 November
Pfizer reveals Covid-19 vaccine candidate is 90% effective
A successful Covid-19 vaccine is a step closer after Pfizer/Biontech revealed its vaccine candidate is 90% effective, according to its first interim analysis. The findings, which are well above the 50% effectiveness for a vaccine to be approved, comes following a clinical trial which involved over 43,000 people. Some 42%…
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5 November
Chancellor extends furlough scheme to March
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that the furlough scheme will be extended until the end of March, amid increased measures for business support as the UK enters a four-week lockdown. Payments are set to remain at 80% of employee’s wages. It comes as the chancellor said that it was “right…
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3 November
Assay offices to remain open in England
The three assay offices based in England are set to remain open during the upcoming nationwide lockdown, they have confirmed. It comes after prime minister Boris Johnson announced that the country would enter a nationwide lockdown from 5 November to 2 December. The Edinburgh Assay Office in Scotland is exempt…
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Oct- 2020 -28 October
Retail sales drop at sharpest pace since June
Retail sales figures in the UK have fallen at the sharpest pace since June, according to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) latest monthly Distributive Trades Survey. In the survey of 116 firms, including 54 retailers, non-food retail categories such as department and clothing were among those reporting falling sales.…
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22 October
Sunak extends Covid scheme to pay up to half of wages
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced increases to the Job Support Scheme, which will now see the government pay up to half of employees wages. As part of the updated scheme, employers will pay less and employees will work fewer hours to qualify, with the taxpayer subsidy now doubled. The increase…
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20 October
Manchester moved into Tier three
Prime minister Boris Johnson has announced that Manchester will be placed into Tier 3 Covid-19 restrictions, after talks between mayor Andy Burnham and the UK government collapsed. As a result of being placed under Tier 3, pubs and restaurants must close unless they are supplying substantial meals and outside household…
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20 October
Footfall continues decline following tiered restrictions
Footfall fell by 3.1% across all retail destinations last week from the week before, following tiered restrictions being introduced across the UK. According to the latest figures from Springboard, footfall saw largely similar rates of decline in all three destination types, with footfall down by 2.8% in high streets, 3%…
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