London, Feb. 14 (Petra) -- The COVID-19 restrictions and travel bans have forces up to 700,000 people in the UK to shut their private business, as the authorities continue to grapple with a new strain that has caused a vertiginous increase in daily infections.

According to findings issues on Sunday by the Resolution Foundation, 1 out of 7 running their own business had to close, a whopping 50 percent increase compared to the COVID-19 closures in the same period in 2020.

The COVID-19 has lowered the living standards for many, as the income of 2 out of 5 business owners saw a decline of about 25 percent, and non of the impacted reported to have been covered by the UK government's support programs, it added.

The Resolution Foundation is an independent think-tank focused on improving the living standards for those on low to middle incomes.

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