By: Iain Fraser - Consultant Editor
Reporting from somewhere in Málaga Province (Remote)
Good Morning from me, still self isolating in not so sunny Malaga. My team and I have now reorganised ourselves after offering our services and news channels pro-bono to the various organisations who would best benefit from additional publicity.
So as from today its back to normal for us and welcome back to my daily review and roundup of the key stories and factors affecting Geopolitics Today on Monday, 27 April 2020. Today I shall be concentrating on UK news.
CORONAVIRUS: Of course Coronavirus continues to dominate the World´s media. Some good news for UK readers as PM Boris Johnson returns to work after his r&r subsequent to his contracting Coronavirus. he marked his return with a speech from the Number 10 rostrum urging the UK public not to lose patience with lockdown measures, saying that he refused to "throw away" the public's "effort and sacrifice" so far by relaxing coronavirus restrictions too soon.
The latest UK stats still make for dismal reading. A further 329 people who tested positive for the coronavirus have died in England. NHS England said the patients were aged between 29 and 100-years-old. The latest figure brings the total number of confirmed deaths in hospitals in England to 18,749 but of course the total figures are much higher. In Scotland, a further 13 people have died, bringing the total in the country to 1,262 patients and in Wales, a further eight patients have died,
totalling 796 in the country over the outbreak.
A senior Number 10 spokesman has said that there will be more about how the government will judge the UK's ability to “move forward” by the end of the week. This is after Mr Johnson say this morning that more detail would be revealed in the "coming days".
The PM is also to lead a minute's silence tomorrow [28 April] proposed by health unions Unison, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives, to remember health workers who have died from coronavirus.which coincides with International Workers' Memorial Day.
The PM will observe the minute's silence at 11:00 BST and has asked everybody who works in government to take part. Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also says she will join in the tribute, saying it provides time to honour frontline workers and pay tribute to those who have died.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to unveil plans for small businesses to get access to 100% taxpayer-backed loans after they raised concerns about slow access to existing coronavirus rescue schemes. The new scheme is believed to start next week, offering firms loans up to £50,000 within days of applying in a move designed to unlock a backlog of credit checks by banks amid fears many small firms could fold before getting loans. UK Banks have come under fire for delays in handing out loans, but have blamed the heavy workload, need to complete the necessary credit checks, and
a shortage of staff.
The biggest gambling companies across the UK are to remove all their adverts from TV and radio during the UK coronavirus lockdown.The Betting and Gaming Council says the "voluntary move", agreed by the firms, will last at least six weeks, with the slots replaced by safer gambling messages, donated to charities or removed from broadcast where contracts allow. Rather than "voluntary" the decision comes a week after the government wrote to gambling firms, calling for regular updates
on how they are tackling problem gambling during the lockdown, so more acquiescence than voluntary.
Hasta Mañana
