• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Food and Drink

Study suggests Eat Out To Help Out is responsible for “significant” rise in infection rates

The government’s Eat Out To Help Out scheme has been said to cause a “significant” rise in new cases, contributing to the “acceleration” of the pandemic.

Jon Hatchman by Jon Hatchman
2020-10-30 13:03
in Food and Drink, News, Restaurants
Eat Out To Help Out Infection Rates
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

According to a new study from the University of Warwick, the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme caused a “significant” rise in new coronavirus infections.

Introduced in August, the government’s Eat Out to Help Out initiative was spearheaded by chancellor Rishi Sunak, designed to boost the economy following the effects of the national lockdown. As a result, pubs and restaurants were able to offer discounted meals from Mondays-to-Wednesdays throughout August. Throughout the month, around 100 million meals were subsidised, at a cost of more than £500 million.

As well as contributing to the “acceleration” of the pandemic, the University of Warwick’s recently published study suggests a sharp increase in COVID-19 infection clusters emerged a week after the scheme began, and areas with a high uptake of Eat Out To Help Out saw a decline in new infection rates a week after the scheme drew to a close. It suggests that between 8 per cent and 17 per cent of newly detected infection clusters could be linked to the Eat Out To Help Out scheme.

This news follows research published by Public Health England last month, suggesting food outlets and restaurants were responsible for an average of 5.18 per cent of new cases for 11 weeks from 9th July (the week after pubs and restaurants re-opened), with care homes responsible for the highest number of new cases (over 40 per cent).

The University of Warwick’s report also shows places that experienced high rainfall around lunch and dinnertime saw lower infection rates than areas that enjoyed nicer weather.

While participating restaurants saw an increase in visits of up to 200 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, academics have since concluded that the economic benefits of the scheme were short lived.

The study’s publication follows Boris Johnson admitting, earlier this month, that the Eat Out To Help Out initiative may have exacerbated the rise in COVID-19 cases seen across the UK in recent months.

RelatedPosts

Daily Mail blames inflation on Bank of England’s WFH policy

‘It feels like we’ve gone backwards 50 years’: UK inflation hits 9%

‘We can’t just put up nice people’: Jim Davidson blasts Thatcher statue protests

Over half of people in poverty in the UK are in a working family

“Insofar as that scheme may have helped to spread the virus then obviously we need to counteract that with the discipline and the measures that we’re proposing,” Boris Johnson told the BBC.

In response to the University of Warwick’s research, Toby Phillips, executive director of the Oxford COVID-19 response tracker at the Blavatnik School of Government, has agreed that the findings were credible, aligning with his previous work looking at the surge in restaurant visits during the Eat Out To Help Out scheme.

RELATED: Chancellor’s proposed benefit freeze dubbed “Eat Nout to Help Out”

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Is this the UK’s most expensive council house?

Lotto Results for Saturday 24 July 2021 Lottery Tonight’s winning numbers

Weather forecast, alerts and UVB index for London, Monday 20 July 2020

How To Make: Roast Turkey – Quick, Easy & Perfect Every Time

‘Senior people’ at The Sun knew information was obtained illegally, says ex-MP

Probe following death of 80-year-old man found with back and facial injuries

Creating space with Etch: Peckham’s open theatre project

Leeds United sign former Benfica winger Costa from Wolves

High spirits: Is alcohol still key to employee morale?

LXi REIT acquires Yorkshire supported living portfolio for £3.8m

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.