UK Interior Minister: Coronavirus has not disappeared

U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel on Sunday urged people to be responsible and "act conscientiously" in light of coronavirus guidelines, folllowing a spate of mass public gatherings in English cities.

"This virus has not disappeared at all (...) We are still in a health emergency, and a health pandemic," she told British broadcaster Sky News.

The minister added she could not think of "anything worse" than Britain experiencing a second wave of COVID-19, which she suggested could result in further lockdowns.

In recent days, London and Liverpool have seen illegal street parties and football celebrations attract large numbers of people, adding to concerns that people aren't taking coronavirus restrictions seriously any more.

The gatherings took place just days after Johnson gave notice that a number of lockdown restrictions would be eased from July 4, including allowing pubs and restaurants to open their doors.

Johnson also effectively announced that the two-meter (6.5-foot) social-distancing rule would be reduced to a meter (around three feet) from that date, a move that is largely aimed at bolstering businesses.

Under current lockdown restrictions in England, groups are limited to six people, and the public is advised to avoid public transport whenever possible.

Asked about border restrictions, Patel said that measures had been introduced earlier to "prevent a second wave of the virus being imported" into the country.

She added that there would be an announcement on air corridors in the next few days, as virus rates drop in the U.K. and abroad.

According to the Johns Hopkins University, the coronavirus had claimed almost 43,600 lives across the U.K. by Sunday morning, by far the highest in Europe.