UK – highest rise in coronavirus cases today, only 46 pc of workplaces enable safe social distancing

Coronavirus cases on Sunday soared in Britain by more than 3,000 in the highest rise on a Sunday since mid-May. Menawhile, less than half of workplaces in Britain enable safe COVID-19 social distancing, a survey released by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has revealed.

As of 09:00 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Sunday, there have been a further 3,330 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country, according to the latest government figures.
It followed a further 3,497 cases which were confirmed on Saturday, also the highest rise on a Saturday since May.

Overall,

368,504 cases have been confirmed by the British government.

The government dashboard also said a further five people had died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 as of Sunday. This brings Britain’s total to 41,628.

Separate figures published by the British statistics agencies showed that there have now been 57,400 deaths registered in Britain where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. The figures were revealed at a time when countries, such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States, are engaged in a race against time to develop a vaccine for the new coronavirus.

Less than half of workplaces in Britain enable safe COVID-19 social distancing, a survey released by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has revealed.

In the survey of over

2,100 workers, only 46 percent said their places of work had enabled safe social distancing,

with people in low-paid and insecure jobs the worse affected. According to the survey, 27 percent of low-income workers who earn less than 15,000 pounds a year (about 19,226 U.S. dollars), report that no action has been taken by employers to reduce the risk of coronavirus infections.

It also revealed just 38 percent of workers said their employers have carried out COVID-19 secure risk assessments even though it’s a legal requirement, and only

42 percent of workers reported being given adequate personal protective equipment.

“Making sure workplaces are safe is key to preventing the spread of COVID-19 and getting our economy back on its feet,” said TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady.
New lockdown rules are being introduced in England and Scotland from Monday limiting people to meeting in no more than groups of six, but workplaces are remaining open.

Featured image: illustration

Source: Xinhua