The UK announced today that the kingdom will provide an additional 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) of support to the businesses that have been most impressed by the transmission of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 where it has affected the country's hospitality and other business sectors.
Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said he believed the move would help hundreds of thousands of businesses. He stressed that the measure would be implemented periodically and the kingdom would act accordingly if further measures were put in place to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.
Under the endorsement announced on Tuesday, hospitality and hospitality firms in England will be eligible for grants of up to £6,000 for each of their premises. In all, £700 million has been earmarked for the new stimulus package.
The grant is equivalent to that given to the hotel trade if it were to close completely earlier this year, the finance ministry said.
In addition, the allocation of funds to support cultural organizations will be increased by £30 million, of which £100 million will go to UK local authorities for commercial support measures and £150 million to the kingdoms of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The ministry also said it would accommodate Covid-19-related sick leave salaries up to two weeks for each worker.
The UK has borrowed £300 billion in the last year to help offset the economic impact of the Covid-19 contagion and restrictions from the kingdom.
Asked about the possibility of more economic barriers, Sunak commented that the situation was still uncertain but that the government would take appropriate steps. On Monday night, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was researching all kinds of measures to ensure the Omicron variant is controlled.
