The British government was on Thursday expected to extend a nationwide lockdown for another three weeks , amid signs the coronavirus outbreak is peaking, but warnings of more deaths to come.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab , who is standing in for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he recuperates after spending a week in hospital with COVID – 19 , will meet with key ministers before making the announcement .
But the government has already said that , with the death toll approaching 13 , 000 and still rising, now is not the time to rescind the stay – at-home order imposed on March 23 .
“ It is too early to make a change ,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC television on Thursday , ahead of meetings of the cabinet and a special coronavirus committee.
“Whilst we ’ve seen a flattening of the number of cases , and thankfully a flattening of the number of deaths, that hasn ’ t started to come down yet . And as far as I ’m concerned that is still far too high .”
He said the vast majority of Britons had followed rules not to go out except for exercise and to buy essential items .
“I don’ t want to put all of that good effort to waste ,” said Hancock , who himself has also had coronavirus but recovered quickly .
“Because if we just released all the measures then this virus would run rampant once again , and we can ’t let that happen. ”
He did not say how long the lockdown would continue, but the law states that the measures must be reviewed every 21 days.
