The Latest Breaking News from Pandemic

OPINION - Homeworking, bone-idle civil servants should get back to the office now

The one interesting thing to come out of the Prime Minister’s appearance at the Covid inquiry yesterday, other than his mesmerising grasp of detail, was his admission that too many people worked from home during the pandemic. “Fewer people were out at work than had been anticipated.” I’ll say.

Evening Standard · Dec 12, 2023

Ignore the Johnson and Sunak circus: these are the real lessons from the Covid inquiry

If we are to be prepared for the next pandemic, we need competent leaders, functional testing and trust in the science, says Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at Edinburgh University

The Guardian - UK · Dec 12, 2023

Delta CEO says fears business travel has died are greatly overstated—hybrid workers are just shifting the data

Business travel at Delta Air Lines is down “about 20% below” pre-pandemic levels. But its CEO Ed Bastian isn’t concerned because rather than globe-trotting to see colleges, hybrid workers are mixing business and pleasure.

Fortune · Dec 12, 2023

Eat Out to Help Out protected workers from ‘devastating’ job losses, Sunak tells Covid inquiry

The Prime Minister said he still believed the 2020 discount hospitality scheme was the ‘right thing to do’

Evening Standard · Dec 11, 2023

Australia’s immigration spike not necessarily driving up housing prices, experts say

Net migration was set to return to ‘normal’ levels, even without the latest overhaul of temporary visa rules, researchers say

The Guardian - AU · Dec 11, 2023

OPINION - Forget Rishi Sunak at the Covid Inquiry, this exercise is chocolate teapot levels of useless

And so it’s over — nearly. For what has seemed like an eternity, beleaguered and formerly famous TV stars have been subjected to intense scrutiny and forced to perform unimaginable acts, sometimes obliged to chew a lot more than humble pie, in front of an audience which is probably left…

Evening Standard · Dec 11, 2023

Rishi Sunak tells Covid inquiry he was not told to save WhatsApp messages

PM begins with apology to people affected by Covid and says he did not see dysfunction in No 10 during the crisis

The Guardian - UK · Dec 11, 2023

Asia lags behind pre-pandemic levels of food security, UN food agency says

The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization says that hunger remains a chronic problem in Asia

The Independent UK · Dec 11, 2023

‘Dr Death’ Rishi Sunak to be grilled over Eat Out to Help out and missing WhatsApps

It is claimed that Rishi Sunak is set to be ‘absolutely slaughtered’ for his failure to hand over WhatsApp messages to the probe

The Independent UK · Dec 11, 2023

Rishi Sunak Covid inquiry – live: PM reacts to Boris Johnson’s ‘pro-death squad’ description of Treasury

Rishi Sunak says Boris Johnson’s description of the Treasury was wrong as he gave evidence at the Covid-19 Inquiry

The Independent UK · Dec 11, 2023