UK Coronavirus Death Toll Drops But Lockdown Is Still Likely To Be Extended

The coronavirus death toll in the U.K. has slowed down as the region recorded a declining number of deaths for three consecutive days already. Officials announced that as of April 13, there are 717 fatalities but still, the number of COVID-19 deaths is going down.

The current death toll in the country has already reached 12,107 but overall, the total number has plummeted and this happened for the first time since the infection started to spread in the U.K. According to the Daily Mail, the U.K.’s Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs Dominic Raab stated via a press conference that although there is a drop in the casualties, the lockdown is still in place and will not be lifted any time soon.

He added that there may be positive signs in the country’s battle against the contagious infection but warned that they have not yet reached the peak. Moreover, he said that the peak of the pandemic has yet to hit Britain so they will continue the fight until they can declare that they are a COVID-19-free country. Raab also admitted that they still have a long way to go but they will win in this difficult battle.

The foreign secretary further explained that their country’s approach to the coronavirus is effective so they are likely to keep the measures intact. “Keep this up, we have come too far, lost too many loved ones and sacrificed too much to ease up,” he said in the press conference.

In any case, CNBC reported that the U.K. will be extending its lockdown since they now have over 12,000 deaths already. They may announce the extension of the lockdown this month or in late May even if Europe is starting to lift the restrictions on businesses to get the economy going again.

Finally, while the U.K. is not yet ready for this, Raab said that they will be meeting with a group of scientific advisors to review how effective the social distancing and lockdown measures are. Perhaps, they would also loosen the restriction a bit for select businesses.