Coronavirus: Students in Britain may have to stay away from home for Christmas

LONDON • British health minister Matt Hancock yesterday did not rule out the possibility that university students would have to stay away from home over Christmas to reduce the spread of the coronavirus if there are widespread issues with outbreaks on campuses.

"We haven't reached that point yet... I don't rule out anything," Mr Hancock told BBC when asked about the possibility.

"We don't rule out anything. It's not something that I want to do. But what's important is that we, of course, keep people safe and keep the virus under control."

Britain is battling a new surge in Covid-19 infections, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week unveiling new nationwide restrictions to rein in its spread.

It reported 6,178 new cases on Wednesday, a marked jump in the daily infection rate. The pandemic has killed nearly 42,000 people in Britain, the worst death toll in Europe.

The country is also borrowing record amounts to pump money through an economy on track for its biggest annual contraction in at least a century.

British finance minister Rishi Sunak yesterday announced fresh plans to help the pandemic-ravaged economy with a new jobs support scheme to help keep people employed on shorter hours, but warned that he could not save every business or role.

Mr Sunak also said he would extend support for loan repayments for businesses and delay ending a tax cut for the hospitality sector, which has been severely hit by Covid-19 restrictions.

"These are radical interventions in the UK labour market, policies we have never tried in this country before," Mr Sunak told Parliament as he announced the government's so-called Economic Winter Plan.

"The primary goal of our economic policy remains unchanged - to support people's jobs - but the way we achieve that must evolve," he added, acknowledging, however: "I cannot save every business, I cannot save every job."

At the heart of the new measures is a replacement for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which supported 8.9 million private-sector jobs at its peak in May and ends next month.

Under the new programme, support will be available only to workers whose employers keep them on at least a third of their normal hours. For unworked hours, the government and the employer will each pay staff at a third of their normal rate, with a maximum contribution of £698 (S$1,230) a month.

"The government will directly support the wages of people in work, giving businesses who face depressed demand the option of keeping employees in a job on shorter hours, rather than making them redundant," Mr Sunak said.

Britain's statistics agency yesterday estimated that one in eight workers was being helped by the current programme early this month.

The Bank of England forecast last month that unemployment would jump to 7.5 per cent by the end of the year if there were no replacement for the existing furlough scheme ending at the end of next month, up from 4.1 per cent in the three months to July.

REUTERS