1850: 5 Things You Need To Know, Today, on Wednesday 22nd April 2020

More than 70% of small and medium-sized British businesses have put at least some staff on leave due to the coronavirus, and are waiting for government funds from a business support programme. The 71% of firms furloughing staff is up from 66% in the survey last week, while 30% said they had put more than three-quarters of their employees on leave until restrictive measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 are lifted.