Dominic Raab 'set to announce three-week extension to coronavirus lockdown'

Follow our live Covid-19 updates HERE

Dominic Raab is expected to extend the UK's coronavirus lockdown until at least May 7, it has been reported.

The Foreign Secretary showed some cautious optimism as he revealed the latest data suggested the UK was "starting to win this struggle," three weeks after restrictions were imposed.

But Mr Raab, who is deputising for Boris Johnson while he recovers after falling ill with Covid-19, insisted the virus was not yet past its peak and that it was "far too early" to talk about relaxing the measures.

And according to the Times, Mr Raab will on Thursday tell the nation that the stay-at-home orders will not be lifted for at least another three weeks.

via REUTERS

Speaking at Monday's Downing Street press conference, he praised the public for staying at home over the Easter weekend, and added: "Our plan is working.

"Please stick with it, and we'll get through this crisis together."

Details of how the lockdown will eventually be lifted remained unclear, however, with the Government repeatedly refusing to outline its "exit strategy".

Scientists advising the Government are expected to meet this week to review the latest figures, but Mr Raab insisted it was crucial that "we do not take our eye off the ball" on social distancing.

The World Health Organisation said restrictions should be lifted slowly and not "all at once" to avoid a resurgence of the virus.

The Government has faced criticism over whether more lives could have been saved if the lockdown had been implemented earlier.

The Department for Health said 11,329 people had died in hospitals in the UK as of 5pm on Sunday, with many more expected in care homes.

It means the UK has more recorded deaths than any country except the US, Italy, Spain and France.

But Mr Raab rejected any "like-for-like" comparison with other countries, saying it depended on each nation's individual circumstances and how far along the coronavirus outbreak curve they were.

Meanwhile, questions were also raised about whether the number of coronavirus-related deaths in care homes was being properly recorded.

Industry bosses warned daily death tolls are "airbrushing out" hundreds of older people who have died in the care system, as the chief medical officer announced that coronavirus outbreaks had been recorded at 92 care homes in the UK in just 24 hours.

Speaking at the daily press briefing, Professor Chris Whitty said around 13.5 per cent of care homes in the UK have registered an outbreak, and said he would like Covid-19 testing to be increased in care homes.

The Government also continues to face pressure over shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline NHS staff, as a growing number of health workers died.

According to The Guardian, the UK missed three chances to be part of an EU scheme to bulk buy personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers, with European medical staff set to receive the first of £1.3 billion-worth of PPE within days or a maximum of two weeks under the scheme.

In other developments on Monday:

- Mr Johnson continued his recovery from Covid-19 at Chequers in Buckinghamshire after doctors ordered the Prime Minister to rest.

- Spain, which on Sunday reported its lowest daily growth in infections for three weeks, allowed workers in some non-essential industries to return to factories and construction sites on Monday.

- French President Emmanuel Macron announced the extension of France's strict lockdown until May 11, on his third televised address to the nation on the virus crisis from the Elysee palace.

- Italy recorded its lowest daily virus death toll in three weeks at 431, putting its total deaths at more than 19,800.

In his address, Mr Macron acknowledged "failures and deficiencies" in a reference to the lack of masks and other equipment.

Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast:

As a response to the criticism that the country has not conducted enough coronavirus tests, he promised that by May 11, all those who have symptoms will be able to get tested.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in