Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s summer statement on July 8 was intended to show how the government can quickly end its emergency bankrolling of the economy, and let a re-energised private sector take the strain again. Since the lockdown was imposed in March, a furlough scheme has allowed shuttered firms to retainContinue Reading
Fruit bats. nutsiam/Shutterstock Bats harbour many diverse viruses, including coronaviruses. Indeed, Sars, Mers and COVID-19 – which are all caused by coronaviruses – are thought to have emerged from bats. These diseases can be deadly to humans, yet bats seem to be unaffected by them. Like all animal species, batsContinue Reading
r.classen/Shutterstock Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re still learning what the disease can do. There are now detailed reports of brain illness emerging in people with relatively mild lung illness, in those who are critically ill and also in those in recovery. One key thing we’re seeing is thatContinue Reading
Don't fret. 3DDock There is no limit to the quantity of money that can be created by a central bank such as the Bank of England. It was different in the days of the gold standard, when central banks were restrained by a promise to redeem their money for goldContinue Reading
The news that the US has bought the global supply of remdesivir – a drug that can treat COVID-19 – has rightly been criticised as “treatment nationalism”. But the US is not the only country acting selfishly. The UK recently banned the export of dexamethasone – the only drug provenContinue Reading
Leicester, England. trabantos/Shutterstock The city of Leicester, in the UK’s Midlands region, is facing a lockdown following a recent spike in COVID cases. The decision was confirmed by UK home secretary, Priti Patel, on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, June 27. The prospect of these local lockdowns beingContinue Reading
In the middle of the coronavirus crisis, many of us have turned to nature to reduce stress levels, improve mental health and stay physically active. Yet, human interaction with nature and ecosystems contributed to the existence of the current pandemic in the first place. So what can we take awayContinue Reading
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have been working around the clock to find an effective treatment. The first drug to show promise is dexamethasone, a cheap, widely available steroid. A large clinical trial run by the University of Oxford showed that the drug cut the risk ofContinue Reading
Denijal photography/Shutterstock Confirmed COVID-19 cases have now passed 10 million: what will they be next week, globally and in your country? Having a good estimate can help health authorities with their responses and will guide governments as they ease lockdowns. To this end, we have been publishing real-time forecasts forContinue Reading
Punchdrunk's production of The Masque of the Red Death. Photography by Stephen Dobbie, Author provided Pubs and cinemas may be opening in the UK, but the performing arts sector remains languishing under lockdown and live performance continues to be prohibited. The government’s roadmap, published at the end of June, hasContinue Reading
