As many as a third of UK employers expect to cut jobs by October, according to a survey that suggests that the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic will accelerate in the coming weeks.
About 33% of more than 2,000 companies, charities and public sector bodies in the poll said they expected to make redundancies in the third quarter of 2020, according to figures from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Adecco Group, a staffing company.
The poll suggests the UK is likely to experience a wave of job losses across the economy as the government starts to withdraw the coronavirus job retention scheme:
Victoria records 322 cases and 19 deaths, marking Australia’s deadliest day
The Australian state of Victoria has recorded 322 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the state’s health department said on Monday.
Victoria is home to Melbourne, which is expected to remain under strict Stage-4 lockdown until 13 September.
The government said there were 19 fatalities from the virus in the last day, which is the deadliest day for the state so far. Yesterday was the previous record, with 17 deaths.
This brings Australia’s death toll from the pandemic so far to over 300 for the first time, with 314 deaths recorded.
The cases mark the most significant drop since the pandemic began:
casey briggs
(@CaseyBriggs)We are now seeing the most significant drop in daily cases numbers in Victoria since the second wave began. pic.twitter.com/Fy09VCrYhC
Updated
at 7.55pm EDT
French passengers sue Costa Cruises over virus ship ordeal and for manslaughter
Around 850 French passengers who were onboard a coronavirus-riddled cruise ship that was turned away from numerous ports in March have filed a collective suit in Paris with 180 complaints, including manslaughter, against Costa Cruises, their lawyer said on Sunday.
The class action, which includes complaints from the families of three passengers who died of Covid-19, accuses the Italy-based cruise giant of negligence and various faults during their trip on the Costa Magica.
From 6 to 13 March the ship was refused to dock in most of the Caribbean islands it visited, including Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Barbados and Saint Lucia.
In the absence of stopovers, the crew encouraged the passengers to use the ship’s shops, spas, restaurants and casino without sufficiently putting health measures in place, or informing them there were suspected infections onboard, the complainants said in their suit.
The staff members on the ship “were at fault, the passengers had almost no information and only found out from local media that there were cases on the ship,” lawyer Philippe Courtois, who represents the collective of some 850 French passengers, told AFP.Courtois also criticised the “extremely light” virus measures on the ship.
“It was meant to be a dream cruise, but it ended in an ordeal,” he said.Costa Cruises, which is part of the Carnival group, has suspended its trips worldwide until 15 August due to the pandemic.
Greece sees highest daily case rise
Greece Greek authorities have announced a record daily number of 203 new coronavirus cases, with one death.
The total number of cases is now 5,623, with 212 deaths.
Greece introduced an early lockdown in mid-March which buffered the country from the devastating effects of the pandemic seen in many other European countries.
Beginning Monday and ending August 31, everyone must wear a mask in all retail places, as well as all modes of transport, other than private cars, the government has decided. People attending church must also do so, though priests are not required to wear masks in church.
