Furlough Scheme Opens for Applications

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has opened for applications, with businesses able to backdate claims to the 1st March 2020. The scheme allows businesses to furlough staff, effectively putting their jobs on hold, with the government reimbursing 80% of the employees salaries, up to £2500 a month. Originally the scheme was due to run for 3 months, however the Chancellor has announced that it will be extended by an extra month to the end of June.

Islands Could Exit Lockdown Early

A top microbiologist has suggested that Scottish Islands could exit lockdown earlier than elsewhere, followed by the Highlands and Grampians. Professor Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University, has suggested that the Western Isles and Orkney are the obvious candidates to be test beds for an exit strategy for the country, because they have an extremely low number of cases and travel is restricted.

Anybody showing signs of the virus could be quickly tested and aggressive contact tracing implemented. He stated that the islands already have good medical facilities, but there would need to be good and effective testing facilities in place for quick results. Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil backed the trial exit strategy, describing it as an “excellent suggestion”, but added that testing needs implemented on the Islands, and the trial would need to be well managed. As of Friday 17th April, there were 11 confirmed cases across the Outer Hebrides and Orkney, with one death.

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