More furloughed UK workers leave lockdown

Following government advice, some of the United Kingdom's 7.5 million furloughed workers have returned to work from the first two months of the nation's novel coronavirus lockdown.

The move has prompted public transport operators to introduce calming measures and employ additional security in attempts to ensure social distancing rules can be followed.

But some operators have admitted they cannot guarantee passengers a 2-meter buffer on commuter trains, sparking fears of a rise in transmissions of the virus that causes the COVID-19 respiratory disease.

The government has reminded workers who can work from home to continue to do so.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said people can also take the strain off public transport by staggering their start and finish times.

Commuters have also been advised to wear face coverings.

The eagerness of some to return to work was partially explained by a new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, or CIPD, that said more than one fifth of UK employers plan to slash jobs in the next three months. Other employers plan to forget about pay rises, new hires, and bonuses.

The Financial Times said the report "confirms the bleak picture" painted by Andy Haldane, the Bank of England's chief economist, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph newspaper in which he said the UK is on course for the worst unemployment rates since the 1980s.

Gerwyn Davies, a senior labor market adviser at CIPD, said: "Employees should brace themselves for pay freezes or even pay cuts in the year ahead to help preserve jobs."

The grim news followed research from the Resolution Foundation that said low-paid, unskilled workers will bear the brunt of any job cuts.

Pub operators said the government could help that industry by abandoning a requirement for patrons to have 2-meter buffers when pubs reopen in the coming weeks.

They said a 1-meter buffer would comply with World Health Organization guidelines and make it easier for the nation's 47,000 pubs to make a profit.

The chief executive of London's Heathrow Airport has added his observations to advice heading the government's way with suggestions on how the aviation sector can take off after the lockdown eases.

John Holland-Kaye wants the government to make it easier for airlines to fly between nations with low infection rates.

He said the government must abandon plans to make new arrivals spend 14 days in quarantine.

"We are urging the government to have a common international standard, working with other countries so that traffic can start to flow in a normal way," he told Sky News while noting that fewer than 6,000 people a day are flying out of Heathrow, compared to 250,000 before the pandemic.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday all people with COVID-19 symptoms who are older than 5 will now qualify to be tested for the virus in the UK, and a loss of taste or smell was added to the list of the main symptoms of a novel coronavirus infection, alongside persistent cough and fever.

People who have any of the main symptoms must self-isolate for seven days.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said at the daily news briefing the nation recorded an additional 160 COVID-19-related deaths on Monday, taking the total to 34,796.

Raab said the UK has recruited 21,000 contact tracers and call handlers who will help the government monitor outbreaks once the nation further loosens its lockdown.

Meanwhile, Robin Shattock, professor and head of mucosal infection and immunity at Imperial College London, said reports that 30 million doses of a vaccine could be ready by September are wildly optimistic.

He said on Radio 4's Today program promising vaccines will not be "readily available for wide-scale use until the beginning of next year" at the earliest.

But there was good news for soccer fans when Oliver Dowden, the UK's culture secretary, told Sky News the English Premier League could resume matches in "mid-June".