“The country is officially past the peak of the virus”, Boris Johnson said at the end of April as the plans to lift lockdown were released. The Prime Minister announced this as he led his first Daily Downing Street Press Conference since he fell ill and was admitted to hospital with the virus.
There were 26,711 coronavirus deaths in the whole of the UK and 171,253 people had tested positive as April ended.
The struggle for PPE supplies was worsening as third of surgeons and trainees surveyed across the UK by the Royal College of Surgeons of England said they did not believe they have an adequate supply of PPE in their Trust, enabling them to do their jobs safely.
Manchester’s Nightingale Hospital opened just fourteen days after work began on the site at Manchester Central. The facility at the Manchester Central Complex had the ability to treat up to 750 COVID-19 patients.
The chancellor overhauled his emergency business loan scheme after the Treasury received more than 130,000 enquiries but less than 1,000 were approved.
People across Greater Manchester were urged to drive, walk or cycle if they have to make essential journeys, and only use public transport if they have no other option.
Pregnant women in custody who did not pose a high risk of harm to the public were to be temporarily released from prison within days to protect them and their unborn children from coronavirus.
The Government had to focus on tackling domestic violence and abuse a central pillar of the broader strategy to combat the Covid-19 epidemic, a report by the Home Affairs Committee found. Calls and contacts to the national domestic abuse helpline run by the charity Refuge were 49% higher in the week prior to 15th April than the average prior to the pandemic.
The Government signalled that the first stage of HS2 will go ahead after it gave companies the green light to begin construction.
Keir Starmer was announced the leader of the Labour Party beating Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy to the position. Nandy took up the role of Shadow Foreign Secretary in Starmer’s shadow cabinet and Long-Bailey became Starmer’s first Shadow Secretary of State for Education.
Tributes were paid to Manchester City Council’s Deputy Leader for the last ten years Cllr Sue Murphy CBE who sadly passed away.
British Airways confirmed it was looking to make up to 12,000 people redundant as the carrier struggled during the Coronavirus crisis.
Support was given to NHS staff including Deliveroo, the food-delivery company delivered free hot meals to NHS workers staying at GG Hospitality’s Hotel Football.
Captain Tom Moore told the story of his part in World War II for a new ITV documentary to be shown on VE Day it was announced.
A new blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer with high accuracy was developed by an international team of researchers. The test was developed using artificial intelligence. Researchers fed data on methylation patterns from blood samples belonging to thousands of cancer patients into a machine learning algorithm.
Scientists from the University of Leeds looked at the health and behaviour of more than 16,000 children in the UK at multiple points during their childhood and early adolescence – first at age five, then again at seven and 14. They found that children who regularly played video games as a young child had a higher BMI nine years later, compared to those who did not play video games.
It was said by scientists that urgent fundamental changes to ‘fast fashion’ clothing items which are treated by many as disposable is needed to stem a devastating impact upon the environment. The fashion industry is the second-largest industrial polluter after aviation, accounting for up to 10% of global pollution. Despite the widely publicised environmental impacts, however, the industry continued to grow, in part due to the rise of fast fashion, which relies on cheap mass-manufacturing, frequent consumption and short-lived garment use.
Former Manchester United defender and now TV pundit for Sky Sports Gary Neville slammed the Premier League over their handling of the Coronavirus crisis.
Kyle Walker faced an internal inquiry at Manchester City after he flouted the coronavirus lockdown by hosting a sex party at his Cheshire flat with two escorts.
Technology helped during lockdown with events moving online.
The first acts were confirmed for United We Stream, which was a new free streaming service that broadcasts home-grown Greater Manchester art, music and culture to audiences around the world during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Well-seasoned at hosting school visits and community groups, Knowsley Safari in Merseyside continued to satisfy children’s curiosity during lockdown, with its ‘Home School Safari’ – a online learning hub packed with education, wildlife and conservation resources.
In a bid to improve life at home for LGBTQ+ people across the world Manchester Pride created a series of online events. Manchester Pride: Live In Your Living Room saw four weeks of Friday night shows made up of performances from Manchester Pride Festivals 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Award-winning distillers, Manchester Gin, announced its second Stay Home Tasting Experience for gin-lovers to enjoy from the comfort of their living room.
