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Coronavirus developments at a glance—24 April

EU investment plans, UK pay cuts, and state support in Australia

Interview: Mico Tatalovic goes inside the UK startup quietly preparing a coronavirus vaccine with no government funding.

Full story: Bristol’s ‘Uncover’ Covid-19 vaccine team


 

Europe
The European Commission is working on an investment plan to fuel the EU’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, which Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said must increase the “firepower” of the bloc’s 2021-27 budget, and R&D commissioner Mariya Gabriel has said must prioritise investment in R&D.

The Dutch startup facilitator Techleap has launched an overview of 155 businesses that are working to beat Covid-19. 

UK
A suggested temporary cap on the number of students universities can recruit due to the Covid-19 outbreak would probably be impossible to remove once the crisis is over, a former universities and science minister has warned.

The warning comes as leaders at King’s College London and the University of Manchester are taking pay cuts, and KCL staff could see salary freezes to ease financial pressure from the pandemic.

The University of Southampton has reversed an earlier move that would have rescinded the visa sponsorship of one of its PhD students. And the UK has been “complacent” over the risks posed by pandemics, according to Deirdre Hine, a physician and former chair of the Commission for Health Improvement, whose 2011 review of the UK’s response to the 2009 swine flu pandemic warned of the dangers of another, more severe pandemic.

Australia
University of South Australia vice-chancellor David Lloyd has welcomed the state government’s announcement of a $13.8m support package for international students affected by Covid-19 restrictions.

A fatigue-management system that can identify excessive work demands and areas of potential stress for staff working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic has been developed by a national workplace safety research group.