London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Budget: Sunak to pledge billions to soften Covid-19 impact as virus reaches Downing Street

Budget: Sunak to pledge billions to soften Covid-19 impact as virus reaches Downing Street

hancellor expected to announce measures to safeguard NHS, jobs and firms as health minister tests positive
The chancellor is to pledge billions of pounds to ease the strain on the NHS as it tackles the Covid-19 outbreak and to reassure an increasingly nervous Britain after the nation’s first MP contracted the virus.

The health minister Nadine Dorries has been diagnosed and is in self-isolation, raising fears that the infection could have spread in Westminster, including No 10, where she attended an event with Boris Johnson last week.

Focus will now fall on tracking down and testing the hundreds of people Dorries will have been in contact with in the past week, both in parliament and at the health department.

With the UK facing the biggest financial threat in more than a decade amid fears the epidemic could cause a recession, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is expected to announce a raft of measures in Wednesday’s budget to safeguard jobs, extend the scope of sick pay, and prevent businesses going under by deferring tax payments.

There was growing speculation in the City that the Bank of England would respond to crashing share prices on global financial markets with an unscheduled cut in interest rates, designed to dovetail with Treasury action.

Sunak, who has been in the post for less than a month, has been forced to revise his budget plans after it became increasingly clear the government’s priority needs to be managing the Covid-19 crisis.

While the chancellor insisted on Tuesday that his speech would lay the foundations of a “decade of growth for everybody”, the budget was expected to announce only limited action to deliver on the government’s election pledge to spread prosperity to all parts of Britain.

The government prepared to set out its financial rescue package following another turbulent day in which:

The number of confirmed cases in the UK rose to 382 and a sixth death was announced.

The NHS announced that it would rapidly scale up testing for the virus, so that 10,000 patients can be checked.
Downing Street admitted the NHS 111 online service had been giving the wrong advice to travellers returning from Italy: that there was no need to self-isolate if they had no symptoms. They are now being told to self-isolate and stay indoors.

British Airways and easyJet cancelled all flights to and from Italy, while Ryanair cancelled flights from this coming Friday until 8 April, as the Italian government’s decision to place the entire country on lockdown came into effect.

Angry British tourists accused airlines of leaving them “stranded” and scrambling for alternative flights and road transport.
International financial markets stabilised amid hopes governments would act to protect their economies.

The EU agreed to fund researchers seeking a vaccine for the coronavirus, allow member states greater flexibility on subsidies to companies, and invest €25bn in parts of the European economy worst hit.

At least two US Republican politicians who had recently met Donald Trump announced they were going into self-quarantine after potentially being exposed to the virus at a conference.

As the total number of global infections reached 116,000 and the death toll passed 4,000, the British government’s broader strategy came into sharp contrast with draconian measures being rolled out by other European authorities.

Austria announced a ban on Italians entering the country unless they were carrying a medical certificate, and Spain, which reported 35 deaths and 1,622 confirmed cases on Tuesday, shut schools in several regions, including the capital, Madrid.

In Germany, which has 1,295 coronavirus patients and where two people have died, Berlin authorities announced the closure of all theatres, concert halls and opera houses until at least the end of the Easter holidays. The capital also became the seventh of Germany’s 16 states to ban gatherings of 1,000 people or more.

The UK government’s strategy of holding off on closing schools or cancelling major outdoor events, such as football matches, was defended by the deputy chief medical officer for England, Dr Jenny Harries.

She said the argument for cancelling major events was not necessarily supported by science, adding: “The virus will not survive very long outside.”

Matt Hancock defended the government’s handling of the crisis in the House of Commons, amid criticism that people were being told they could not be tested unless they had had contact with a known case. The health secretary said all of the government’s advice was “driven by clinicians” and was under constant review.

Among those making subtle calls for a change of tactics was Dr Peter Drobac, an expert in infectious diseases at Oxford University, who said he believed it was time to seriously consider some of the social distancing adopted by other countries, including closing schools.

“The evidence on social distancing is limited but pretty clear – it works better when done pre-emptively,” said Drobac, adding that with hindsight it appeared Italy had waited too long before implementing such measures.

The government was accused of playing roulette with the public by the editor of the Lancet medical journal. Dr Richard Horton called for the “urgent implementation of social distancing and closure policies”.

There was also firm support for the experts advising the government, including those on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), which held a meeting chaired by the government’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance.

Dr Simon Clarke, an associate professor in cellular microbiology at Reading University, said ministers should not be rushed into moving into the “delay” phase. “More serious containment action, such as that seen in China and Italy, should not be used unless absolutely necessary. We must avoid ‘something must be done, this is something so let’s do it’ scenarios,” he said.

However, others stressed that draconian measures did help to limit the impact of infectious disease outbreaks.

Dr Elisabetta Groppelli, a lecturer in global health at St George’s, University of London, said: “Social distancing measures have had a major effect in Wuhan, and in previous outbreaks, such as the recent Ebola outbreak in west Africa and Spanish Flu in 1918. The lockdown in Italy could therefore have success in containing and slowing the number of new cases, which could also reduce the strain on healthcare facilities in the country.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×