There seems no sign of an early end to lockdown, according to reports today which suggest it may be extended until June.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will deliver his first daily Downing Street press conference since recovering from Covid-19 today.
A number of media reports have suggested Mr Johnson will brace the country for lockdown measures continuing into June.
The official spokesman for the Prime Minister was asked today about the possibility of an extension to lockdown beyond the next review date of May 7.
He told a Westminster briefing: “What you’ve obviously heard from (England’s chief medical officer) Chris Whitty is that this is a disease that is going to be around for a significant amount of time - he’s said we have to be realistic, we’re going to have to do a lot of things for a long period of time.”
The spokesman added: “Let’s not pre-empt the review but, as the PM himself has said, the worst thing we could do is relax the social distancing measures too soon and throw away all of the progress which has been made thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of the British public.”
Today's headlines:
The Prime Minister chaired the daily coronavirus morning meeting, followed by meetings of his political Cabinet and full Cabinet, today.
He will address the nation at the daily press conference at around 5pm and you can follow live updates here.
The UK’s coronavirus death toll of 26,097 is now the third highest in the world after the US and Italy.
This lunchtime Wales' chief medical officer Dr Frank Atherton warned that Covid-19 "is not finished with us yet" as the death toll surpassed 900.
He said lockdown measures in place were having an effect and proving "successful" in tackling the outbreak, adding: "We are seeing some improvements in the metrics, the figures we use, to monitor how the pandemic is unfolding."
But he said: "To lift the lockdown measures at too early a stage or too quickly could see a resurgence of the virus' circulation."
