Britain to extend lockdown for at least 3 weeks

Britain will extend its coronavirus lockdown for at least three more weeks as a relaxation of the measures would damage both public health and the economy, foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Thursday.

The foreign secretary told the daily No 10 briefing that a review had concluded relaxing the measures now would risk harming public health and the economy.

Relaxing any of the measures currently in place would risk damage to both public health and the economy, he told reporters.

Based on this advice… the government has decided that the current measures must remain in place for at least the next three weeks.

It comes as the UK recorded another 861 coronavirus deaths in hospital, taking the total to 13,729.

Strict limits on daily life - such as requiring people to stay at home, shutting many businesses and preventing gatherings of more than two people - were introduced on 23 March, as the government tried to limit the spread of coronavirus.