Too early to say when coronavirus lockdown will end – British PM

It is too early to say when the national coronavirus lockdown in England will end, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday, as daily deaths from COVID-19 reach new highs and hospitals become increasingly stretched, according to Reuters.

Britain posted a fresh record in daily deaths on Wednesday for the second day running, figures Johnson has called “appalling”.

A prevalence survey, known as REACT-1, suggested infections had not fallen in the first days of lockdown, though the government has said that the impact of national restrictions introduced on Jan. 5 was not yet reflected in the numbers.

“I think it’s too early to say when we’ll be able to lift some of some of the restrictions,” Johnson told broadcasters.

“What we’re seeing in the ONS data, in the REACT survey, we’re seeing the contagiousness of the new variant that we saw arrive just before Christmas. There’s no doubt it does spread very fast indeed.”

England’s third national lockdown has seen bars, restaurants and schools mostly closed, with Johnson attributing a steep rise in cases at the end of last year to a more transmissible variant of the coronavirus first detected in England.

While deaths have been rising, the number of new cases has fallen from a peak of 68,000 on Jan. 8 to 38,000 on Wednesday.

News.Az 

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