Published 00:15 IST, May 1st 2020
Boris Johnson says the United Kingdom is 'past the peak' of coronavirus pandemic
While Johnson warned that it is too soon to remove lockdown measures, he said that next week he would unveil a ‘comprehensive plan’ for eventually reopening.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, while speaking at the daily press conference, said that Britain is 'past the peak' of the COVID-19 pandemic. At his first press conference since being hospitalised with the virus, Johnson confirmed that the UK is past the peak and is also on the downward slope. With more than 171,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, the COVID-19 contagion has also claimed nearly 26,771 lives in the country.
While Johnson warned that it is too soon to remove lockdown measures, he also said that next week he would unveil a ‘comprehensive plan’ for eventually reopening the economy, schools, and workplaces. He also informed that in the coming week the authorities will also decide whether to extend the COVID-19 lockdown or instead modify measures.
‘No risk of a second peak’
While speaking to the media, Boris Johnson said that the rate at which the virus spreads among people was below one which is the outcome of the general public’s adherence to the social distancing measures his government introduced last month. As authorities believe that the virus is almost contained, the UK government said that it could both relax and tighten measures.
The UK Environment Secretary George Eustice at an earlier press briefing had said, “There are encouraging signs of progress, but we will not adjust our social distancing measures until our five tests are met -- that the daily death rate falls sustainably and consistently. The rate of infection is decreasing, operational challenges have been met, and that there is no risk of a second peak”.
Boris Johnson himself recently recovered from the deadly virus and took over his office on April 26. After contracting COVID-19, Johnson spent three days in intensive care of a London hospital. He took almost two weeks to recover from the virus and is now back to his normal schedule.
Updated 00:16 IST, May 1st 2020