UK PM To Set Out Plan for Easing Lockdown Next Week

LONDON:
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out a plan for easing the country’s COVID-19 lockdown restrictions next week, Minister for the Cabinet Office Michael Gove said.

Addressing the media on Sunday, Gove stated that the UK “must carry on” until the Prime Minister reveals how social distancing measures, which were first imposed on March 23, will be relaxed, reports the Metro newspaper.

“His comprehensive plan will explain how we can get our economy moving, how we can get our children back to school, how we can travel to work more safely, and how we can make life in the workplace safer,” the Minister said.

Gove said that the restrictions can only start being relaxed when the government”s “five tests” are met. The five tests include the number of cases falling, a declining death rate, the NHS being prepared and measures in place to stop a second peak of the virus.

“We are consulting with employers and unions, professionals, and public health experts to establish how we can ensure that we have the safest possible working environments and the Prime Minister will be saying more later this week,” Gove said/

He also acknowledged that the continuation of lockdown is impacting people”s “mental and emotional well-being” as well as economic activity, said the Metro newspaper report. Responding to a question, the Minister warned that relaxing the restrictions prematurely would be the “worst thing to do”, as it could risk a second spike in the disease which has so far infected 187,842 people in the country and killed 28,520 others.

Lockdown restrictions were first put in place on March 23, and extended for at least three weeks on April 16. The government has remained tight-lipped about how long the measures will likely last.