Less money has been lent under the Business Interruption Loan Scheme than in Switzerland and Germany because the application process is too complex, the TaxPayers' Alliance said.

Though it is one of the largest lenders to small and medium-sized firms, it has only approved a tiny percentage of loans made under the Government's Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

Novacyt has inked a deal with the Department of Health to provide it with 288,000 tests a week. And Omega Diagnostics has made fresh strides in the race to roll out antibody tests.

Treasury officials and the City watchdog expressed concern after it emerged a company is charging £500 upfront, then a percentage of the value of the loan if the application is successful.

Deloitte's survey of 104 finance chiefs found that 84 per cent were less optimistic about prospects, compared with 47 per cent three months ago - the survey's biggest drop in confidence on record.

More than 300 listed companies have cut or cancelled payouts as they battle to survive. It is now feared that total dividend payments will fall from £98.5 billion last year to just £47.2 billion this year.

William Hill is benefiting to the tune of over £30m per month from the wage subsidy scheme and the business rates holiday, while Paddy Power is saving £400,000 per month in business rates.

The insurance giant said it would sell up to 58m shares, which at last night's price of 692.4p would be worth £400m, collecting the money so it could 'respond to future growth opportunities'.

The anti-viral solution leaves a protective layer that bonds to the surface, creating a safer environment in shared spaces such as restaurants, bars and shops.

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey (pictured) has put pressure on banks to ramp up lending as the central bank predicted the economy would shrink by 30 per cent in the first half of the year.

From temperature tests on arrival to face masks and two-metre distancing, this is the first glimpse of how manufacturing in Britain could look in the wake of the lockdown.

CEO Giuseppe Marotta has expressed his fears after Inter's match at Juventus, which was to have been played later on Sunday, was one of five which were postponed by Serie A on Saturday.

Serie A supremo Dal Pino has revealed that the Nerazzurri were offered the chance to switch their clash with Juve to Monday and face the reigning champions without playing behind closed doors.

Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal could be quarantined due to coronavirus if they travel to South America for the World Cup qualifiers later this month. 

It's the first time since I foolishly took up smoking during my gap year in France almost 50 years ago that I've heard anyone suggest my addiction might actually be doing me good, writes TOM UTLEY.

The Prime Minister has been robust during the disease's spread, saying his favourite greeting was OK as long as people were fastidious about cleansing their digits afterwards.

There have been growing concerns that the coronavirus crisis could impact Joshua's first fight on home soil since 2018 but Hearn has insisted the fight cannot happen behind closed doors.

David Haye has revealed that Derek Chisora's sparring partners will all be 'quarantined' inside one flat to help ensure his clash with Oleksandr Usyk does not succumb to coronavirus.

Eddie Hearn admits coronavirus is probably the biggest obstacle of his family's rollercoaster promotional career - but the Matchroom chief insists it is his fighters who risk catastrophe.

Sports promoter Barry Hearn has revealed this summer's Anthony Joshua heavyweight title defence could be cancelled due to coronavirus with most of sport blighted by the pandemic.

Anthony Joshua's world heavyweight title fight with Kubrat Pulev is set to be postponed by several months due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Bulgarian challenger said on Thursday. 

Deontay Wilder triggered the rematch clause after being dethroned of his WBC heavyweight world champion title by Tyson Fury, but Frank Warren insists the priority is to fight Anthony Joshua.

The world heavyweight champion is following government guidelines around self-isolation but has shown no symptoms of the deadly disease, which threatens to derail his fight with Kubrat Pulev.

With the country currently in near-lockdown, the world heavyweight champion admitted he wanted to show his gratitude towards all workers helping those affected.

The promoters were hopeful that the much-anticipated 'Battle of Britain' showdown would be held in December, but the health emergency has disrupted the sporting world's calendar.

This week the British Boxing Board of Control pulled all fights until the end of April, with Anthony Joshua's June 20 clash with Kubrat Pulev also under threat of postponement.

Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn has vowed to reward NHS staff fighting the coronavirus pandemic with free tickets to all his major boxing shows over the next 12 months.

Anthony Joshua's first defence of the world heavyweight titles he won back from Andy Ruiz Jr in December is set to be postponed by over a month due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Anthony Joshua's world title fight with Kubrat Pulev that was scheduled for June 20 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, has been postponed.

With boxing rightly taking a step out of the ropes, a magnitude of fighters have decisions to make about their impending or any possible bouts. Sportsmail takes a look at the options for the top heavyweights.

Kubrat Pulev will donate half of his expected £4million purse from his world heavyweight title fight against Anthony Joshua to help medical workers fight the coronavirus.

There will be no boxing behind closed doors in Britain before the coronavirus lockdown is lifted, along with all social distancing measures.

Chinese anaesthetist Dr Dong Tian, 29, died in March after suffering a stroke following a 35-day battle with COVID-19. US doctors have seen a seven-fold increase in stroke patients under 50.

A test made by Chinese manufacturer Wondfo was found by US researchers to be just 3.2 per cent less sensitive than the machine used to evaluate testing kits at the University of Oxford.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN agency had sounded the highest level of alarm over Covid-19 early on, but lamented that not all countries heeded its advice.

Perth-based Linear Clinical Research will trial a 'ground-breaking' potential vaccine being developed to help the body produce antibodies to fight the coronavirus.

The Chinese capital city passed a new law on Friday to impose severe punishment on people who hunt, trade and eat wild animals across the city in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Ambassador Cheng Jingye said on Monday that Australia's push for an inquiry into the origins of the virus could result in Chinese citizens rejecting Australian products.

President Donald Trump said Monday from the White House: 'Germany's looking at things, and we're looking at things, and we're talking about a lot more money than Germany's talking about'.

Authorities from the Chinese eastern province Zhejiang claimed Monday that none of the 1,500 students who showed high body temperatures was diagnosed with coronavirus.

Zhang Jingjing, 32, died from a cardiac arrest earlier this month after working day and night to save patients during a two-month mission to Hubei, the former ground zero of the outbreak.

The kits were reportedly produced by Chinese firms Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics. Pictured: Wondfo's test, which was recently rejected by the British Government.

Putin said Russia had not yet reached its peak of virus cases as he announced that the 'non-working period' would continue past its previous deadline of April 30.

Major retailers such as Amazon and Walgreens appeared to be experiencing shortages of the medication.

The testing for China's fourth vaccine candidate has started today, said China National Biotec Group. It comes as CDC chief said that China could have its first coronavirus vaccine ready by autumn.

The new modeling is based on a nationwide shutdown of non essential services from April to September, meaning if the pandemic persists, the losses could be significantly higher.

Australia is standing firm in its calls for an independent probe into the origins of COVID-19. China has dismissed any potential investigations, describing the proposal as a 'political manoeuvre'.

Digital share broker CommSec, which provides financing to buy shares, is predicting Australia's border closures will cause immigration levels to plummet to levels that will harm the economy.

The virus hits men harder as they suffer more severely and have a death rate that is around 2.5 times higher, researchers from China found.

A comment article in the People's Daily , which parrots the views of the Chinese government, said Mr Morrison is targeting China to score political points with the Australian public.