Headlines
• New York City is seeking permission to close schools and reinstate restrictions on non-essential businesses
• Bars in Paris will have to shut for two weeks from Tuesday
• WHO says one in ten people may have had the virus globally
• New car sales fall 4.4% YoY in the UK
• Restaurants, bars and cafés in Mumbai reopen after six months
Company news
Leisure
• Cineworld has announced it will close all US and UK venues. It means 127 UK venues – including Picturehouses – will shut their doors, and 536 in the US. Cineworld says 45,000 jobs are affected, of which 6,500 in the UK.
Transport
• Wizz Air has announced September 2020 traffic statistics.
Other
• Jobseekers in the UK will be offered coaching and advice about moving into “growing sectors” as part of a £238m government employment programme.
• New car sales in the UK fell to their lowest point in 21 years. Sales fell 4.4% YoY and overall sales in the first nine months of the year were down by a third from 2019. However, sales of electric and plug-in hybrid cars continued their rise, increasing from this time last year by 184.3% and 138.6% respectively.
• In Moscow schoolchildren will have to stay at home for two weeks and firms have been told to keep at least 30% of staff working from home. Russia’s daily infection rate has risen to 10,888 – the highest since May.
• The Czech Republic has re-imposed a state of emergency, as its two-week average infection rate is 303 per 100,000, with only Spain’s (319) higher in Europe, according to EU experts. Czech borders remain open, but indoor gatherings are limited to 10 people.
• From Tuesday bars in Paris will have to shut for two weeks, and the capital’s restaurants and cafes must tighten their hygiene measures. Similar rules are already in force in Marseille. Paris universities can only have lecture halls halffull. The French government is alarmed that the infection rate is now above 250 per 100,000 people in Paris, and Covid-19 patients account for more than 30% of intensive care beds.
• Restaurants, bars and cafés reopened today in India’s financial capital, Mumbai, after being closed for more than six months. Restaurants and bars will reopen with 50% seating capacity, thermal screening, social distancing and other safety measures – staff must wear masks, and customers have to reserve tables before arriving and pay bills virtually, wherever possible.
• Mike Ryan, the WHO’s top emergency expert, has said “Our current best estimates tell us about 10% of the global population may have been infected by this virus. It varies depending on country; it varies from urban to rural; it varies depending on groups.”
• New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has asked the state for permission to close schools and reinstate restrictions on non-essential businesses in several neighbourhoods.
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