Coronavirus is exposing British business’s ‘underlying health issues’

It usually takes months for big firms to move in the direction of laying people off. But in 2008 Chris Blackhurst saw how quickly they did it, and he’s seeing it again now

Streets have been left virtually deserted as people have to busy themselves at home (PA)

Every shop, except those supplying food and medicines, and every bar and restaurant, except those offering takeaways, is closed.

It’s an unsettling spectacle. What I find myself wondering, though, is just how many of them will reopen once the war against coronavirus is over. For, just as the terrible daily toll is accompanied by the words “underlying health issues”, the fact is that many of these outlets also had underlying health issues of the financial kind.

Some outlets may pick up where they left off, but an awful lot, I suspect, will never open their doors again. This is especially true where the bigger retail chains are concerned.