UK to cover 80 percent of wages of virus-hit workers: finance minister

The British government on Friday said it would help cover the wages of people hit by the coronavirus outbreak as it tightened restrictions to curb the spread of the disease.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson told cafes, pubs, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, theatres and leisure centres to shut as soon as possible to cut the risk of transmission from close contact.
"We need to keep people apart," he told a news conference, adding the situation would be kept under monthly review, as the UK death toll climbed to 177.
Finance minister Rishi Sunak meanwhile announced what he said was an "unprecedented economic intervention" to protect jobs, after a wave of redundancies caused by a slump in business.
The chancellor of the exchequer earlier this week announced a £330-billion ($385 billion, 361-billion-euro) package of government-backed loans to help business.
But he said there was also a need to protect individuals.
"The government is going to step in and help to pay people's wages," he said.
Firms of any size or non-profits can apply for a grant for up to 80 percent of salaries of retained workers up to a total of £2,500 ($2,900) a month.
The payments will be backdated to March 1 and be available for about three months, although he did not rule out extending the scheme.
In other measures, he announced a deferment in payment of sales tax for the next quarter to the end of June, which he said was a cash injection for firms worth £30 billion or 1.5 percent of GDP.