Covid: Firms hit by Shanghai lockdown and NHS under pressure in Waleson March 31, 2022 at 6:54 am

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Thursday morning.

Businesses have scaled back their operations in Shanghai, which is in lockdown. Volkswagen is one of them and says it’s having supply shortages. More than a dozen other companies have suspended plans to list their shares in the major financial centre. Economists are concerned that a slowdown in Shanghai could affect growth in the world’s second largest economy. Read more here.

Rising coronavirus cases in Wales has led to the NHS being under “extraordinary pressure”, Health Minister Eluned Morgan says. There is limited bed capacity, staff sickness, difficulties discharging patients and one health board has cancelled all “non-essential activities”.

All Covid testing sites in Wales will close today, which has caused uproar among some staff who say they were given just days’ notice that their jobs would disappear. They say support in finding new work has also been “too little, too late”, describing it as a “token gesture”. But Wales’ health minister says sites needed to close because the UK government has cut funding.

A very high level of coronavirus infections in Scotland means face covering rules will remain in place until 18 April. The legal requirement was due to be lifted next week for anyone travelling on public transport or visiting shops but First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said daily figures remained high. However, there are signs they could be stabilising. Here’s the full story.

There’s been an increase in people joining trade unions over the past two years following widespread redundancies since the start of the pandemic. People are more conscious of job insecurities and union membership has risen in the UK and the US. So, are we now in a ‘golden age’ for trade unions?

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Is it possible to catch the Omicron variant again? Find out here.

You can find more information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.

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