The second stage of the coronavirus response "will not be easy" and the UK must adjust to a "new normal" to avoid a second peak, Dominic Raab has said.
The Foreign Secretary said society would have to "adapt to safe new ways to go about our daily lives", adding: “We need to be under no illusions, the next stage won’t be easy”. Government figures show a total of 29,427 people have now died in hospital, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for Covid-19.
It came as top epidemiologist Professor Neil Ferguson, whose research is credited with helping Boris Johnson enforce the lockdown, resigned from his position on Sage after allowing a woman, with whom he has a romantic relationship, to visit his home despite social distancing measures.
Meanwhile, the Government has begun to review its furlough scheme, with an aim to "wind it down" over the coming months. Planned options including cutting the 80 per cent wage subsidy for British workers, the Standard has learnt.
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