News Headlines - 16 May 2020
▽Coronavirus: A third of hospital patients develop dangerous blood clots - BBC News
Up to 30% of patients who are seriously ill with coronavirus are developing dangerous blood clots, according to medical experts.
They say the clots, also known as thrombosis, could be contributing to the number of people dying.
Severe inflammation in the lungs - a natural response of the body to the virus - is behind their formation.
Patients worldwide are being affected by many medical complications of the virus, some of which can be fatal.
The devastating toll of the Government’s ‘disastrous’ policy of encouraging care homes to take patients with coronavirus is revealed today.
Grieving relatives told of their ‘agony and anger’ at losing elderly loved ones because of the strategy, which they say ‘abandoned an entire generation.’
Care home managers also complained that they had been ‘pressured’ into taking the patients.
Until April 16, Government guidelines said patients should be released into care homes even if they had tested positive for covid-19, or without any test at all, a move MPs said ‘beggars belief’.
▽Over 14,000 fines handed out to people breaking lockdown | Metro News
A total of 14,244 fines for alleged breaches of coronavirus lockdown laws have been handed out by police in England and Wales.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council said 13,445 fixed penalty notices have been recorded by forces in England between March 27 and May 11, while 799 were issued in Wales in the same period.
The fines were all handed out before lockdown regulations were relaxed in England from Wednesday, with penalties set at ￡60, reduced to ￡30 if paid within two weeks. The fine was doubled for each repeat offence up to a ￡960 maximum.
▽JCPenney files bankruptcy - CNN
JCPenney filed for bankruptcy on Friday, the latest retail giant to see its downfall hastened by the coronavirus crisis. The pandemic was the final blow to a 118-year-old company struggling to overcome a decade of bad decisions, executive instability and damaging market trends.
The company said it has an agreement with most of its lenders on the turnaround plan that will allow it to stay in business as a more financially healthy company, but will include closing an as yet unannounced number of its 846 stores. As part of the turnaround process JCPenney arranged to borrow an additional $450 million from those lenders to pay for operations during the reorganization.
▽Japan apparel firm Renown files for bankruptcy as virus hit sales | The Japan Times
Japanese apparel maker Renown Inc. said Friday it filed for bankruptcy protection after the coronavirus pandemic hit sales sharply in recent months.
Founded in 1902, Renown filed for protection from creditors with the Tokyo District Court under the civil rehabilitation law. It was the first bankruptcy of a listed company in Japan since January 2019, according to credit research firm Teikoku Databank.
Renown was saddled with debts totaling ￥13.88 billion ($129 million).
