Face of Nation International : People in Britain have been warned that there is “a long way to go” before lockdown measures to curb the spread of coronavirus are likely to be relaxed, with the UK’s chief scientific adviser suggesting they could last another month.
As the country entered its fourth week of rules compelling the public to stay at home except for essential work, shopping or exercise, Sir Patrick Vallance said he expected the number of deaths from coronavirus to continue rising this week before hitting a plateau that could last up to three weeks. Only when the UK was “firmly on the other side” would it be safe to relax some of the restrictions, Vallance told the the daily Downing Street press briefing, implying that the lockdown measures in place could easily last another month.
His comments, coming three weeks after Boris Johnson announced a lockdown, were backed by the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, who said it was “absolutely crucially important” not to let up at this point. Raab, who is deputising for the prime minister while he recovers at Chequers from the Covid-19 infection that led to him spending a week in hospital, said he spoke to Johnson on Saturday.
When the prime minister announced the lockdown on 23 March, he said it would be reviewed after three weeks.
However, ministers are now looking at proposals that would involve the restrictions being removed gradually, with some of the physical distancing measures possibly being maintained for many months. (Source: The Guardian News- UK)
