to contain this variant. that means the government is once again instructing you to stay at home. a rise in cases plunged the country back into a national lockdown. shops, bars and restaurants were forced to close once again. any festive cheer turned into a painful hangover. schools shut their doors. travel ground to a halt. and office workers settled down in spare rooms and on kitchen tables, to work from home once again. and for those who couldn t, an extended furlough scheme helped to prop up earnings. the scheme supported the wages of more than 11.7 million people after it launched in march 2020. but it came at a heavy price,
it was being withdrawn too soon. many still weren t able to operate at full capacity and warned that without financial help, they could be forced to close. how confident are you that you will be here this time next year? 0oh, difficult question. difficult question. i want to still be here and i will do my damnedest to still be here. the true cost of the pandemic is still hard to calculate. as well as thejob retention scheme, there were loans and grants for businesses, to help them through the worst of the crisis. the total cost hit nearly £380 billion. but that support kept the economy moving. businesses were closed and workers stuck at home, but the economy avoided
be here this time next year? 0oh, difficult question. difficult question. i want to still be here and i ll do my damnedest to still be here. the true cost of the pandemic is still hard to calculate. as well as thejob retention scheme, there were loans and grants for businesses to help them through the worst of the crisis, the total cost hit nearly £380 billion. but that support kept the economy moving. businesses were closed and workers stuck at home, but the economy avoided another huge slump. second time around, businesses and workers had learned to better navigate the restrictions. unemployment began to fall,
shops, bars and restaurants were forced to close once again. any festive cheer turned into a painful hangover. schools shut their doors. travel ground to a halt. and office workers settled down in spare rooms and on kitchen tables, to work from home once again. and for those who couldn t, an extended furlough scheme helped to prop up earnings. the scheme supported the wages of more than 11.7 million people after it launched in march 2020. but it came at a heavy price, and by the time the scheme was wound down in the summer, it had cost more than £70 billion. but even then, many firms feared it was being withdrawn too soon. many still were not able to operate at full capacity and warned that without financial help, they could be forced to close. how confident are you that you will
and by the time the scheme was wound down in the summer, it had cost more than £70 billion. but even then, many firms feared it was being withdrawn too soon. many still were not able to operate at full capacity and warned that without financial help, they could be forced to close. how confident are you that you will be here this time next year? 0oh, difficult question. difficult question. i want to still be here and i ll do my damnedest to still be here. the true cost of the pandemic is still hard to calculate. as well as thejob retention scheme, there were loans and grants for businesses to help them through the worst of the crisis, the total cost hit nearly £380 billion. but that support kept the economy moving.