UK Government Extends Lockdown For 3 More Weeks

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The UK government has announced lockdown will go on for 3 more weeks before it can be reviewed again. The announcement was made today, Thursday, April 16th by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. This comes after the number of dead in the UK topped 13,000 today, with another 861 people losing their lives.

Tonight the nation paid another tribute to all the heroes on the frontline of the fight against #coronavirus, especially our brave carers and NHS workers.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Britain also surpassed 100,000 so far.

Mr. Raab laid out five tests that Britain must meet before the rules can be changed.

1. The NHS must still be able to cope – with the confidence that critical care and special treatment can continue across the UK
2. A sustained and consistent fall in the daily death rates so experts are confident that the peak has passed
3. The rate of infection falling to “manageable levels”
4. Making sure that Britain has enough testing capacity and PPE to relax measures
5. Ensuring that the changes will not risk a second peak of infections that overwhelm the NHS

'Relaxing any of the measures in place risks damage to both public health and the economy'

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says the Government will extend the lockdown for at least the next three weeks https://t.co/sgcGwWN4RF pic.twitter.com/z6U8Mo0viU

— ITV News (@itvnews) April 16, 2020

But no specific numbers were mentioned, and no plan for an exit strategy was mentioned either.

Mr Raab said that lifting any lockdown measures without those tests being met would risk a damaging second wave which would harm health and the economy even more.

This means that rules on going outside the house, a ban on seeing friends or family outside of the household, and on exercising just once a day, will stay in place for now.

There will be another reviewed in May, when ministers will decide whether to lift any, but Mr Raab did not give any indication of whether they would be.

Tonight @RishiSunak and I joined the nation in paying tribute to all the heroes on the frontline of the fight against #coronavirus – especially our brave carers and NHS workers. #ClapForOurCarers #ThankYouNHS pic.twitter.com/AqfyDNTpvw

— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) April 16, 2020

Source: The Sun UK