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| Wages cover for businesses hit by virus outlined | Wages cover for businesses hit by virus outlined |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The government is to pay 80% of wages for employees not working, up to £2,500 a month, Chancellor Rishi Sunak says. | |
| The "unprecedented" measures are part of government plans to protect people's jobs, he says. | |
| Many firms have been warning of collapse, wiping out thousands of jobs, as life in the UK is largely put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. | |
| He added that the closure of pubs and restaurants would have a "significant impact" on businesses. | |
| "Today I can announce that for the first time in our history the government is going to step in and pay people's wages," he said. | |
| The Chancellor made an appeal to employers to stand by their workers during the coronavirus crisis. | |
| "Let me speak directly to businesses: I know it's incredibly difficult out there - we in government are doing everything we can to support you," he said. | |
| "The government is doing its best to stand behind you and I'm asking you to do your best to stand behind our workers." | |
| This is a colossal intervention from the government - as the chancellor said, unprecedented in the UK. | |
| It reflects how concerned the government is about the economic impact this crisis could have - and is having already. | |
| It's worth remembering this is the third big intervention from government in recent days. This crisis has changed all the rules completely. |