inevitable, the longer it goes on, the more they will have to assist businesses. the more they will have to assist businesses- the more they will have to assist businesses. ., ., ~ , ., businesses. can you talk us through some of the businesses. can you talk us through some of the difficulties businesses. can you talk us through some of the difficulties that - businesses. can you talk us through some of the difficulties that you - some of the difficulties that you are facing? some of the difficulties that you are facing? yes, we have got off well, are facing? yes, we have got off well. there are facing? yes, we have got off well, there are are facing? yes, we have got off well, there are covid are facing? yes, we have got off well, there are covid cases - are facing? yes, we have got off well, there are covid cases in i are facing? yes, we have got off| well, there are covid cases in the community, we have a moral issue with the duty of care, members of staff year. you know
water. there is a report today from an island where people had died from dehydration. so, what we are hearing is the international federation of the red cross with this appeal, they are trying to raise $20 million. today, the british government committed $1 million to help the people of the philippines. the philippine president committed $14 million take support his people. we are also seeing the death toll rising slowly, and that is because these provincial governments are slowly getting reconnected to the internet and the cellular networks. so, slowly they are able to update the world about what really happened last thursday. the headlines on bbc news. there ll be a virtual meeting of the cabinet later, amid calls for action to tackle surging coronavirus case rates. sources tell the bbc three options have been prepared. a new photo s been published
be brought in through compulsion, or people doing it because they want to protect themselves, their loved ones and anyone else that they might come into contact with, what is your view on that? it s a difficult balancing act. what we know is that mandating things is more effective, but there are lots of other challenges in terms of the economy, issues of mental health and so on. it is a genuinely difficult one to call. mandating things is more effective, but there are other knock on effects that we are trying to balance here. what we are seeing currently is actually the real impact of an infection which is spreading as quickly as this omicron variant is. the latest we have heard, for instance, is that the natural history museum have had to close for a week because of an unprecedented impact on its staff through covid. so, even without enforced lockdowns, there is testing, people are aware of when there are cases
money, i think over £200 million for those who are particularly affected by the restrictions applied because of covid 19. we are doing everything we can, and i think one of the things we have done as well as with the vaccines as we have safeguarded jobs and livelihoods through the fellow scheme and bounce back loans and grants, and we will look at doing everything we need to do to stimulate the economy. i would also say that our economy, as a result of the measures the prime minister and chancellor have taken, is one of the strongest in the g7. jobs are up. we are mindful of those that are suffering. we have taken the action to put it in that position. shopper numbers across britain s dropped over the weekend of the 18th and 19th december, as the spread of the omicron variant kept people at home. that s according to research from springboard, which says footfall fell 8.5% in central london, and 6.4%
decimated by the pandemic, with some of their branch bookings down by 70% or 80% compared to 2019. it comes as the chairman of the company that runs the real greek and franco manca restaurant chains says the chancellor needs to get his act together and announce further support within the next 2a hours. joining me now is george lowe, co founder of milo and the bull fitness studio, which announced yesterday that it was moving its classes online due to the surge in covid cases in london. welcome, thank you very much for joining us. so, just tell us what the situation is with your gym? thanks for having me on. last week we found bookings were down about 75% in the week before. so we decided, we had a number of covid cases in the community of members, so we decided on saturday to take the classes online for this week, in the classes online for this week, in the run up to christmas. fire