LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - British businesses reported that 7% of their staff - equivalent to around 1.6 to 2.0 million people - were partly or wholly on furlough in early August, unchanged from late July, the Office for National Statistics said on Thursday. Britain"s COVID-19 furlough programme - which supported around a third of private-sector jobs at its peak in May 2020 - comes to an end on Sept. 30. Of the 7% of workers on furlough, 4.3% had been furloughed on a part-time basis while 2.7% were furloughed full-time, the ONS said.