4 NEWS
THEWEEK 29 February 2020
The main stories...
It wasn’t all bad
InBritain,whichhasrecorded 13 casesandnodeaths,
preparationsforthedeadlyvirusweresteppedup.Dozensof
staffandpupilsweresenthomefromschoolsaftertripsto
Italy,andfourschoolswereclosedcompletely.PublicHealth
Englandhasannouncedthatitwillincrease
testingofpeoplewithflu-likesymptoms,
eveniftheyhaven’ttravelledto“high-risk”
countries.TheDirector-Generalofthe
WorldHealthOrganisation,Tedros
AdhanomGhebreyesus,warnedon
Mondaythattheviruscouldyetbecome
apandemic–adiseasespreading“ina
sustainedandintensive”fashioninmultiple
countriesaroundtheworldatthesame
time.“Doesthisdiseasehavepandemic
potential?Absolutely,”hesaid.“Arewe
thereyet?Fromourassessment,notyet.”Stockmarketsaroundtheworldtumbledasthesurgeincases
outsideChinaspookedinvestors.Almost£100bnwaswiped
offthevalueoftheFTSE 100 onMondayandTuesdaywhen
theindexfellby5%.USstocksalsosufferedaseriousslump,
withairlinesandtouroperatorsespeciallybadlyhit.Investor
uncertaintywasfuelledbyfearsaboutapossiblebreakdown
ofglobalsupplychains,andagrowingperceptionthatefforts
tocontainthedisease’sspreadoverthepasttwomonthshave
been failing (seepage 5 1 ).Theglobaloutbreakofthecoronavirus
Covid-19worsenedthisweek:thenumber
ofcasespassed 8 0,000andthedeathtoll
approached3,000.Almostallthecases
werestillinChina,butthespreadofthe
virus–whichhasanestimatedmortality
rateof2%–acceleratedelsewhere,affect-
ingupto 40 countries.Fearsthatitcould
sweepEuropegrewafteramajoroutbreak
inItalywhere,asofWednesday,atleast
323 peoplehadbeeninfectedand 11 had
died.InthenorthernLombardyand
Venetoregions, 11 townswerequarantined,
andsportingeventswerecalledoff.
Spain,Austria,Croatia,andAlgeriarecordedtheirfirstcases,
andaBrazilianmanwho’drecentlyvisitedItalybecamethe
firstpersoninLatinAmericadiagnosedwiththedisease.
OutsideChina,theworst-hitAsiancountrieswereSouth
Korea–wheretherewere1,200cases, 12 fatal–andIran,
wherehealthministerIrajHarirchiwasamongthe 9 5people
confirmedtohavethedisease.TheoutbreakinIransparked
fearsthattheviruscouldspreadacrosstheMiddleEast.
What happened
Taking precautions in Venice
The virus moves West
Judged bythe“low bar”of Theresa May’s immigration
proposals,these ones are “marginallymore open”, said The
Observer. Thesalarythreshold has beencut from£30,000to
£26,500 (and£20,480 for designatedshortage
occupations).But theplans stillmakeno sense.
Patelthinks theUK’s 8.5 million “economically
inactive” people aged16-64can dothe jobs
now doneby migrants, yet thevastmajority
of these peopleareretired, studying,full-time
carers orsick.As for theidea thatwageswill
rise in badly paid sectors such associal care if
we stem the flow ofmigrants,“thisis crank
economics”. Theirony is thatnetmigration
from theEU isgetting “closeto zero”,said The
Irish Times. Theseplans area“self-defeating”
solution toaproblemthat doesn’texist.The controls may not havethedesired effect,
said TheTimes, butthey are aimed atagenuine
problem. There’s nodenying thatan abundance
of cheap labourhas for toolongdivertedourcompaniesfrom
vital investment in training andautomation. Spending on
workforce training hasfallen by 20% since 2004, when we
openedour doorstoworkersfrom central andeasternEurope.The Government unveileditsnew immigration plan
last week,claiming that itwould bring overall
numbersdown andcurethe economy’s
reliance on“cheap labourfromEurope”. The
new points-based system, which will come
into effect in2021, willtreat EUand non-
EU citizensthe same. Thosewiththehighest
skills, such asscientists and engineers, will
be prioritised.Applicants willhaveto speak
Englishandmost willber equiredtohave
ajobofferpaying at least £25,600. Critics
warnedthatthenew regime couldleadto
disastrous labour shortages in thecare,
farming, construction and hospitality sectors.The launch of thenewpolicywas
overshadowed bymediareports thatHome
SecretaryPritiPatel wasdistrustedbyMI
and hadbulliedherstaff. Thesecurity servicesissueda
strongdenial;Patel and her Permanent Secretary, Sir Philip
Rutnam–whom shehad been accusedoftrying to oust –
issuedajoint statement criticising the “falseallegations”.What happened What theeditorialssaid
Patel:accusedofbullying
Shaking up immigration
The “make do and mend”
mentality is returning to Britain.
In response to concerns about
textile waste, major brands and
high street retailers are now
offering to repair or alter clothes
for free (even,acustomer at
Toast discovered, if the hole in
their jeans was made by their
dog). Some will repair clothes
of any age; others impose time
limits.Afew have started to run
workshops where customers
can learn to alter their own
clothes, while Nudie Jeans
offers free sewing kits.
Aforgotten passage built for
Charles II’s coronation in 1661,
and later used by MPs to reach
the Commons, has been
re-discovered in the depths of
Parliament. Leading out of
Westminster Hall, the passage
was blocked off in 1834, and still
bears the graffiti of 19th century
bricklayers–one of whom was
“very fond of Ould Ale”. During
the Second World War, workers
found it again, and installed a
tiny door in the panelling that
covered it; but though the door
had atinykeyhole, it was either
not noticed, or assumed to lead
to acloset, and never opened.Numbers of blue whales
have surged around the
island of South Georgia,
from one or two in
previous years to 55 in a
recent survey. The 23-day
expedition by the British
Antarctic Survey found
dozens of the enormous
animals feeding together,
which experts described
as “truly amazing”.
Records show that between 1904 and 1925, as industrialised
whaling took off, more than 33,000 Antarctic blue whales were
caught around the British Overseas Territory. But followingaban
in 1966, and “after decades of protection, it seems the territory’s
waters areagood place for them once again”, said the survey’s
project leader Jennifer Jackson.
COVER CARTOON: HOWARD MCWILLIAM©SOLO SYNDICATION