UK minister: No dramatic change to lockdown

Britain’s Environment Secretary said Prime Minister Boris Johnson won't be announcing immediate changes to the country’s coronavirus lockdown when he addresses the nation on Sunday.

George Eustice said on Friday that there “isn’t going to be any dramatic overnight change” to the lockdown.

He said the government will be “very, very cautious” in loosening the restrictions.

Eustice also revealed that another 626 people have died after testing positive for COVID-19 in all settings, including hospitals and care homes.

That takes the UK total to 31,241, the second highest official death toll in the world behind the United States.

Johnson is expected to set out a roadmap of how the UK can start easing the lockdown in the future.

Only minor changes, such as allowing individuals to sunbathe in parks and removing the limit on one daily outing for exercise, are anticipated.

The Environment Secretary added that Brexit arrangements are going ahead and that the government is doing "whatever planning is necessary to ensure that after that transition period, we can trade normally and function normally as a country."