UK on Thursday extended its lockdown to tackle the coronavirus for “at least the next three weeks”, as it remains among the countries worst-hit by the pandemic with hundreds dying daily from the disease.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputising for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he recuperates from COVID-19, said it was “too soon” to lift the stringent social distancing regime rolled out last month.
During a Downing Street press conference, Raab said, “The government has decided that the current measures must remain in place for at least the next three weeks”.
“The worst thing we could do right now is ease up too soon”, he further added.
On March 23, PM Johnson ordered the initial three-week lockdown to tackle the spread of the virus, shutting “non-essential” shops and services, and banning gatherings of more than two people.
Since then, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths has climbed dramatically in Britain, with more than 100,000 people now infected and nearly 14,000 fatalities among those hospitalised.
The daily death toll from the virus hit nearly 1,000 at the weekend and, after falling for several days this week, spiked back up to 861 on Thursday, according to health ministry figures.
Earlier this week, Raab said that it was “crucially important that we do not take our eye off the ball or the public’s focus” off social distancing measures.
Earlier, Johnson was admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital on the advice of his doctor, after continuing to have a cough and high temperature 10 days after testing positive for the virus.
Johnson was back on his feet by Friday, taking short walks between periods of rest, in what his office described as the early stage of recovery.
The government has insisted there are indications the lockdown is working and that the pandemic is peaking in Britain, with Raab saying the infection rate is thought to have dramatically reduced.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world topped 2 million Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, with more than 143,000 confirmed deaths as of Thursday night.
In Europe, Germany became the latest nation to commit to cautiously reopening some businesses despite keeping a wider lockdown in place.