Impact on daily life

UK 3^rd March
Budget day on Wednesday.  It is likely that the furlough will continue until the end of lockdown.  The Government hopes that everything will bounce back to normal.  They are not planning extra taxes on business at the moment.  Everyone wants to be positive.
But there is a problem.  There is a big worry about the Brazil version of Covid.   They found 5 cases so far and they are close to tracking down a sixth case.  This is really important because they found that the Brazil version gave people the virus, even after they had it the first time.  It looks like it can get around the vaccine for some people – that is what happened in Brazil.  Now the health people think everyone will need an extra vaccine later this year because of the new versions of covid.
And there are worries about jobs in the steel industry.  You may remember that there were concerns because China is making cheaper steel than the UK.  The world is using less steel.  In 2016 Sanjeev Gupta bought the UK steel plants.  He saved 3 thousand jobs.  But now there are financial difficulties in the companies which support his company.  The Unions think there is a real risk that the Liberty Group will collapse and the UK will lose the jobs.
Secondary schools in Scotland will go back on 15^th March – some classes will be part time.  They thought it would be better to wait until after Easter.  Now they changed their mind – older pupils need to be in class.