Sheffield’s Migration Matters Festival has announced this year’s event will be held online as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. Festival director Sam Holland told Sheffield Live! the event will be delivered as an online and digital programme celebrating sanctuary, migration and solidarity. The one week event is set to run from 15th to 20th June and will be available online to a global audience. Baillor Jalloh reports.

Jacqui Hanson, who took over The Rose House pub in March, has accused Sheffield Council of withholding funds after a failed claim to the coronavirus business support grant scheme. Hanson said she registered for business rates in March and applied for the grant but the application was rejected because the business rates application had been lost. Councillor Mazher Iqbal, cabinet member for business and investment, told Sheffield Live! in a statement that the local authority is working hard to ensure that all eligible businesses in Sheffield receive the financial support they need. He said: “We understand that this can be a frustrating process for some and we are working as quickly as possible to distribute these grants to eligible businesses to ensure their cash flow is maintained”. Baillor Jalloh reports for Sheffield Live!

More information on support available to businesses in Sheffield can be found online at https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/your-city-council/coronavirus-support-for-business or by calling Business Sheffield advisors on 0114 224 5000.

A group of organisations from Sheffield’s black and minority ethnic communities have come together to form a Covid-19 action group to provide food parcels and other support to those most vulnerable during the current pandemic. Sheffield Live! reporter Baillot Jalloh spoke to Abdul Shaif, chair of the Covid-19 BAME community action group.

The NHS has turned to medical students to assist in treating non-Covid-19 patients amidst hospital staff shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Charlotte Kessell, a fourth year medical student at the University of Sheffield, told Sheffield Live! she has been called in to work up to 16 hours per week at Rotherham General Hospital to treat non-Covid19 patients. Sean Johnson reports for Sheffield Live!

Pollution levels in Sheffield have reduced, with Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) lowered by 25 per cent according to a Sheffield clean air campaigner, as more people have been staying at home and driving less. Graham Turnbull, founder of Clean Air Sheffield, said: “I’m hoping things don’t go back to normal if normal is roads full of cars causing a lot of noise and pollution”. Turnbull noted that a variety of issues affect air quality in the city such as solid fuel burning, the weather and the direction of the wind, but reported that city-wide monitoring of pollution showed approximately 25 per cent reduction in NO2 since the lockdown when compared to the same weeks in previous years. Bethany Gavaghan reports for Sheffield Live!

Sheffield Council and Sheffield Chamber of Commerce are surveying businesses affected by Covid-19 to gather feedback on the impact of lockdown and plans for recovery. Alexis Krachai, vice president of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce told Sheffield Live! that a return to business normality will require a vaccine or maintanance measures that could take up until the middle of next year to have in place. Azz Mohammed reports.

With government set to announce plans for easing of the lockdown, Sheffield Trades Union Council has warned that safety measures are not adequate for a return to work. Labour activists organised a road protest on Thursday to raise their concerns for workers’ safety and the need for workplace risk assessments. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to secretary of Sheffield Trades Union Council Martin Mayer.

Two students from the University of Sheffield and the University of Manchester have launched an online platform to help people make new friends and to support the isolated during and beyond lockdown. Corona Unity is a not-for-profit project created by politics, philosophy and economics student James Augustin and computer science student Aydin Hepsaydi and now involving over 100 volunteers. The project is offering a Phone-a-Friend service from 8am to 10pm allowing those seeking a friendly informal non-clinical chat to be matched with people from their local community or from elsewhere in the UK. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Corona Unity founder James Augustin.

Sheffield Council has confirmed a five per cent increase in payments to care homes to support their response to the coronavirus crisis and is ready to meet additional costs incurred. Nicola Richards, chair of the Sheffield Care Association, described the offer as “a devastating blow for homes caring for the city’s elderly” as it falls well short of what is needed to sustain care homes through the pandemic. Sheffield councillor George Lindars Hammond, cabinet member for health and social care told Sheffield Live! the local authority will be looking at individual cases and the five per cent increase is just a start. Baillor Jalloh reports.