There will be no decision on an end to lockdown for at least another week, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has suggested.
He said he had chaired a Cobra meeting today to discuss the latest situation with Covid-19. But he indicated the country should not 'waste the sacrifices' already made by coming out of lockdown too soon.
However, he did say that the signs were that the strict measures to restrict people's movements were having an impact on the figures.
Speaking at today's Downing Street press conference Mr Raab said: “After all the efforts everybody has made, after all the sacrifices so many people have made let’s not ruin it now.
“Let’s not undo the gains we’ve made, let’s not waste the sacrifices so many people have made.
“We mustn’t give the coronavirus a second chance to kill more people and to hurt our country.”
Mr Raab was standing in for Prime Minister Boris Johnson who remains in intensive care in St Thomas's Hospital in London, where he was admitted on Sunday night.
On the Prime Minister he said: “Can I start with an update on the Prime Minister - he’s still in intensive care but he continues to make positive steps forward and he’s in good spirits.”
He said 243,421 people had now been tested for the virus, 65,077 had tested positive, and the number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus symptoms now stood at 16,784.
“And of those who have contracted the virus, 7,978 have sadly died and our thoughts and our prayers are with their family and friends,” Mr Raab added.
He said it was too soon to say conclusively that the lockdown measures in the UK were having an impact.
The lockdown rules mean people can only go outside for one form of exercise a day - either a walk, run or cycle in their local area - along with shopping for basic food necessities, for any medical need, or to provide care or help to a vulnerable person, or to travel to work, if your job can not be carried out from home.
“While the early signs suggest that they are having the impact we need to see, it’s too early to say that conclusively,” said Mr Raab.
“Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) will meet next week to discuss the latest evidence and we will keep the measures we’ve put in place under review.
“We don’t expect to be able to say more on this until the end of next week.
“The measures will have to stay in place until we’ve got the evidence that clearly shows we’ve moved beyond the peak.”
The 7,978 patients who have died in hospitals in the UK is a rise of 881 from the previous update 24 hours earlier.
On Thursday, Public Health Wales said there were 4,089 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Wales, after 16 more people tested positive.
A further 41 people have died, bringing the overall total to 286.
