UK draws up three-stage plan for easing coronavirus lockdown
The UK has drawn up a three-point plan to ease the coronavirus lockdown, the Times reported.
The government must review the lockdown by 7 May, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he is worried that a speedy reopening could cause a second spike in cases.
The first phase of relaxation will involve outdoor workplaces and small shops reopening, the second will involve large shopping centres reopening and more people being encouraged to return to work, the report said.
Pubs, restaurants, hotels and leisure centres will be among the last businesses to reopen, the Times said.
The UK lockdown was announced by Johnson in a televised speech on 23 March with tough restrictions on movement introduced the next day.
Three weeks later on 16 April, Dominic Raab – standing in for the coronavirus-stricken Prime Minister – said lockdown would persist for at least another three weeks as the UK was not past the peak of the disease.
Government measures accelerated quickly from 16 March when people had been told to avoid all non-essential contact with each other to 20 March when all pubs, restaurants and cafes were closed.
Johnson said last week that the UK was past the peak of coronavirus.
“I will be laying out a comprehensive plan next week to explain how we will get our economy running, how we get our children back into school and childcare and how we can travel to work and how we can make life in the workplace safer,” Johnson said.
Data released yesterday showed deaths in England and Wales in the week to 24 April fell, the first time since the coronavirus lockdown began, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
England and Wales recorded 21,997 total deaths for the week to 24 April, the figures revealed.
That is a decline of 354 deaths compared to the previous week. And it is the first time deaths have fallen since 20 March.