These are exceptional times as this article tells us:
The chancellor is to pledge billions of pounds to ease the strain on the NHS as it tackles the Covid-19 outbreak and to reassure an increasingly nervous Britain after the nation’s first MP contracted the virus.
With the UK facing the biggest financial threat in more than a decade amid fears the epidemic could cause a recession, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is expected to announce a raft of measures in Wednesday’s budget to safeguard jobs, extend the scope of sick pay, and prevent businesses going under by deferring tax payments.
There was growing speculation in the City that the Bank of England would respond to crashing share prices on global financial markets with an unscheduled cut in interest rates, designed to dovetail with Treasury action.