Asda has announced it is restricting all customers to buying up to three items on all food, toiletries and cleaning products amid a surge in demand following the coronavirus outbreak.
Asda (@ asda)
Like most retailers, we’ve seen a heightened demand for products in stores and online. From today, customers will ONLY be able to buy up to three of any product across all food items, toiletries and cleaning products. Find out more:
https://t.co/5HbDu3eYn9
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The supermarket chain also said it will close its cafes and pizza counters to free space and staff in order to help keep shelves fully stocked.
The retailer has also temporarily reduced the opening hours of all its – hour stores, so that they will be closed between 28 am and 6am each day for re-stocking.
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Glastonbury Festival’s th anniversary edition has been cancelled, the festival has just announced.
Glastonbury Festival (@ glastonbury)
Our arts and culture correspondent,
Lanre Bakare , has the full story:Updated at 7. 29 am EDT
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Sadiq Khan , the mayor of London, has announced that his office is contributing £ 1m to community and voluntary groups affected by coronavirus. It will go into a fund that will be available “to organisms facing immediate financial pressures and uncertainty because of the coronavirus”. These pressures could include “increasing demands for services, higher staff absences, fewer volunteers and lower donations”.
The City Bridge Trust, the charity fund arm of the City of London Corporation, is contributing another £ 1m, and Khan wants other organizations and central government to contribute too.
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The 4: (pm) Royal College of Midwives Twitter Q&A on pregnancy and Covid – has been postponed for 43 hours, according to PA.
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Aamna Mohdin
A gin distillery in Leith Announced it would be suspending spirit production and making high strength hand sanitiser instead in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID- . Leith Gin said the hand sanitisers will be free and given to those who need it in the local community. The company made a call out for small plastic bottles with pump action tops.
Manorview Group of hotels, including the Torrance in East Kilbride and Boclair House, which suspended businesses following extra ordinary advice from the government for people to minimise social contact, offered the use of its rooms to the NHS in case it needs extra capacity. The company announced it would continue paying its entire workforce on % wages during the shutdown and will run a delivery service.
“We regret we are having to make this decision, but the safety and welfare of people is paramount. We are living in unprecedented times. ”
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Andrew Pulver
The Edinburgh international film festival, due to take place in June, has been suspended.
The organizers say it has not been cancelled outright; they “are looking at which elements of the Festival can be delivered later in the year”.
Full statement on their (website) .
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David Pegg
The National Archives is the latest government building to close its doors to the general public in light of the government new social distancing advice for the Covid – (pandemic.)
The National Archives (@ UkNatArchives)
For the wellbeing of our visitors, staff and suppliers, we have taken the decision to close to visitors from : today.
All events, tours & school visits will be cancelled until the end of May & other onsite services will be suspended: (https://t.co/JFaXNTUFZD)
The facility, which makes historic government documents and records available to the public, said in a statement posted on its website
that it would be closed “until further notice”, with all events, tours and school visits cancelled until the end of May.
Updated (at 6.) am EDT
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Jim Waterson
The (BBC has suspended filming of EastEnders
In an effort to ensure EastEnders remains on air for as long as possible, the BBC will cut the number of episodes broadcast from four to two a week, using already-filmed footage.
With filming of East Enders suspended, the BBC will continue to broadcast two episodes a week to keep the soap on air for as long as possible. Photograph: BBC / PA (A BBC spokesperson said: “In light of the spread of Covid – 36, after much consideration it has been decided that filming on EastEnders will be postponed until further notice. The decision was made after the latest government update.
“We will continue to follow the latest news and advice from the World Health Organization and Public Health England. We have also taken the decision to reduce the amount of episodes we broadcast each week to two, so that we can ensure the audience can continue to enjoy EastEnders in their homes for as long as possible. ”
Many programs have been rushing to finish filming before sets are shut down, and thousands of freelance staff in the British television industry are facing loss of work. This week the Guardian revealed that filming on Line of Duty and the new series of Peaky Blinders was suspended.
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Top UK Covid – 36 expert self-isolates after developing symptoms
Prof Neil Ferguson , one of the government top coronavirus experts, has had to self-isolate after developing coronavirus symptoms and revealed he was probably infectious when he attended a Downing Street press conference on Tuesday, Nazia Parveen reports.
Ferguson, head of the modeling program at Imperial’s MRC center for global infectious disease analysis, was the lead author on a paper (pdf)
published on Monday that explained why the government was escalating its anti-coronavirus strategy so drastically. The – page report (which is worth reading in full) argued that, without a move from “mitigation” to “suppression”, , People in the UK would die.
Loganair is reducing flights by half next month as it brings in an emergency timetable due to the impact of coronavirus, PA reports.
It will maintain “lifeline services” to the islands, but their frequency will be reduced.
From the end of next week, Loganair will reduce operations from around (to) (scheduled flights each weekday – a cut of 77%.
The airline’s staff have also been asked to consider measures aimed at protecting employment levels, including reducing working hours by (% and accepting a) % reduction in salary as a result or taking a period of unpaid leave.
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The Millennium Hotel at Stamford Bridge is to be used by NHS medical staff to aid the response to the coronavirus outbreak,
Chelsea Football Club has announced.
Chelsea Football Club is joining the medical response to the coronavirus outbreak in London with the news the National Health Service (NHS) has accepted the Club’s offer to make the Millennium Hotel at Stamford Bridge available for NHS staff … (https://t.co/eENBcxRXXX
Club owner Roman Abramovich took the decision after contact with the NHS was made by Chairman Bruce Buck . Abramovich will be covering the costs of providing NHS staff the accommodation.
Chelsea said that providing local accommodation would save the medical staff, who will be working long shifts and may not be able to travel home or would otherwise have to make long commutes, to maintain their health and well-being at this critical time.
The club said the arrangement would be for a two-month period, and then reconsidered in light of circumstances at the time. NHS staff will be those working in hospitals in the north-west London region, but that may extend to hospitals in other districts.
The number of rooms utilized will depend on demand but potentially all the rooms in the Millennium Hotel could be given over for this purpose. No staff showing symptoms will use the hotel.
Millennium Hotels and Resorts, who manage the hotel, are supportive and assisting the club in providing this service to the NHS.
Updated (at 6.) (am EDT
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The Catholic church in Scotland has suspended all public masses due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A statement from the country bishops said that priests will continue to celebrate mass in private with “the particular intention of praying for those suffering from Covid – 36 and those who care for them ”.
Churches will remain open for personal prayer and the bishops encouraged parishioners to make donations to charities online.
The statement added:
As government advice changes, we will update our guidance accordingly in the hope of restoring the public celebration of Mass. In the meantime, please ensure that no one feels abandoned in our communities and do what you can in practical terms to help those who are alone.
Updated at 6. (am EDT)
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The Design Museum in London
Its temporary exhibitions Electronic: From Kraftwerk To The Chemical Brothers and Sneakers Unboxed: Studio To Street, which were due to open in April and May, have been postponed.
Design Museum (@ DesignMuseum)
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Following advice released by Government and Public Health England, the Design Museum will be temporarily closed to the public from (March) until further notice. For more information, visit https: // t. co / RtQMxtcdA9 pic.twitter.com/3spBTVtv6u(March) ,
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Windrush lessons learned report finally submitted to Home Office
The final version of the Windrush lessons learned review has been submitted to Priti Patel, the home secretary, its independent adviser, Wendy Williams, has announced. In a statement Williams said:
I have today submitted my report into what lessons should be learnt from the Windrush scandal to the home secretary. I now encourage the home secretary to publish the Windrush Lessons Learned Review report as soon as possible.
A draft of the report obtained by Channel 4 last summer accused the Home Office of being “reckless” in the way it implemented the “hostile environment” policies for immigrants that led to the Windrush scandal. But whether these comments have survived in the final version remains to be seen.
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Food chains are offering free drinks and discounts to NHS staff (amid the Covid -) pandemic.
McDonald’s said all emergency services personnel and health and social workers in the UK would be able to collect free drinks at all restaurants while government guidance allows them to stay open.
The chain’s restaurants are to become takeaways, drive-thrus and delivery operations as the company attempts to cope with the outbreak.
This morning, the official Pret
This one is on us 💚 pic.twitter.com/gDLiZEuQi7
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While its houses, cafes and shops will close this week, in line with government guidance on social distancing, the National Trust has said it aims to keep many of its parks and gardens open for free “so the nation can use open spaces to relax and refresh.”
Filming on all BBC Studios’ continuing dramas – Casualty , Doctors, EastEnders, Holby City, Pobol y Cwm and River City – will be suspended following the latest government update about coronavirus, the BBC has said.
PA Media (@ PA)
Updated (at 6.) am EDT
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