The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was expected to return to lead the UK’s daily televised coronavirus briefing on Thursday, with his government weighing options for easing a nationwide lockdown that officials warned will not be lifted any time soon.
Johnson, who returned to work this week after being incapacitated by the disease and treated with oxygen in the hospital, was expected to chair a meeting of his cabinet amid growing pressure on the government to lay out its next steps.
Schools could be allowed to re-start classes in a phased way when it’s safe to do so, while some outdoor businesses
may be among the first to be able to open again, at the
right time, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said.
But with health officials warning the virus may last until a vaccine is found, the threat of a second wave of infections is forcing ministers to tread cautiously on lifting lockdown measures. Foreign Secretary
Dominic Raab said the example of Germany, where new cases
of Covid-19 rose after some social-distancing restrictions
were relaxed, showed the risk Britain faced.
In a potential setback, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said on Thursday the government is unlikely to meet its deadline for carrying out 100,000 daily Covid-19 tests by the end of April. Capacity has dramatically increased, but officials have struggled to get people to testing centres.
An effective testing regime is a crucial piece in the track-and-trace strategy outlined by officials to enable some lockdown restrictions to be lifted, as the government seeks to rebuild the battered UK economy after the peak in infections has been passed.
Still, “the direction of travel is the most important thing,†Buckland told Sky News regarding the testing target. “Even if we don’t hit it, and it’s probable that we won’t, we will in the next few days.â€
More than 26,000 people have now lost their lives to the virus in the UK, according to latest figures reported that included deaths in care homes and the community for the first time, not just hospitals. The Department of Health and Social Care had been criticised for under-reporting the pandemic’s toll by excluding that data.
Britain will next formally review its lockdown on May 7.