LONDON: The number of people living in poverty has gone up
in Britain due to the coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown. The pandemic has
added to the woes of British already suffering because of a global meltdown for
the last ten years. Official data from UK shows that over 14 million of the
population is reeling under poverty. This is one-fifth of the total population
of UK. In a period of two weeks, over 10 lakh adults in UK have applied for the
government’s primary financial aid, the Universal Credit. This is a ten fold
increase compared to the normal times.
Moreover, very few donations to foodbanks for feeding the poor have been
received in the last few days.
Meanwhile foodbanks, which help feed the most vulnerable people including the
homeless, are seeing fewer donations as a result of the outbreak of coronavirus.
Experts have warned that the risk of poverty is high particularly among the people employed in the hospitality and the retail industry.