Covid-19: Ministers mull £500 Covid payment and retail sales suffer record annual drop
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1. Ministers to consider £500 Covid payment
Ministers wrestling with how to ensure people with coronavirus obey laws to self-isolate are to consider paying £500 to anyone who tests positive. It s among options drawn up for England by the Department of Health to encourage people to stay at home, amid fears the current support leaves some unable to afford the time away from work. However, Treasury sources say funding a universal payment to the tune of £453m a week is unlikely.
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2. Retail sales see record drop
British retail sales saw their largest annual fall in history last year as the impact of coronavirus took its toll. Sales fell by 1.9% in 2020, when compared with 2019, official figures show. Clothes shops were hit hard, with a record annual fall of more than 25%. Meanwhile, UK government borrowing hit £34.1bn last month, the highest December figure on