The UK Government does not expect to relax or lift the Coronavirus lockdown this week, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said.
The comments came during Monday’s Coronavirus press conference from Downing Street as the UK enters the fourth week of lockdown measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the press conference, Mr Raab, who is deputising for Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his recovery from the Coronavirus said that there are some “positive signs” from the data, but added, “we are still not past the peak”. Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said he thought the UK was in for a ‘difficult’ week with further increases in deaths across the UK before a plateau that could last some time.
Sir Patrick said it would be a “complete waste of everything everyone’s done until now” if lockdown measures were lifted before we are beyond the peak and the curve of new cases and deaths starts decreasing, while Mr Raab added, “if we let up too early, we risk a second wave”.
A meeting of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) is due to take place this week. After the meeting, the government is due to consider before Thursday whether to lift or make changes to lockdown measures.
The number of people confirmed to have died in the UK after contracting the COVID-19 Coronavirus now stands at 11,329.
Photo Credit: Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street under licence (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
