By Lizzie Day • Published: 16 Apr 2020 • 20:32
The Foreign Secretary has laid out five criteria Britain must achieve before lockdown measures can be relaxed.
Dominic Raab said easing lockdown too soon would undo any progress made, and refused to give a date when measures would be lifted.
He said social distancing measures would remain in place for at least three weeks to avoid a significant rise in the number of infections and potential deaths.
Raab said the country needs to be sure the NHS can provide sufficient critical care and specialist treatment across the UK and there needs to be a consistent fall in daily death rates.
Thirdly the government must have reliable infection rate figures, and needs to know there is sufficiant PPE to meet demand.
Lastly, Raab said the government must be confident any changes to measures in place won’t result in a surge of “overwhelming” infections.
Once officials are happy these five points have been met, the government will consider relaxing measures, said Raab.
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