The World Health Organisation has warned that England’s coronavirus lockdown should not be further lifted until the government’s contact-tracing system has proven to be “robust and effective”. Tara Pilkington reports.
As today marks the first day that a number on non-essential shops across England can open and people were encouraged by the government to come out of their homes and on to the high street to restart the economy, Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO’s director for Europe, has cautioned that the UK remains in a “very active phase of the pandemic”.
His remarks came as ministers confirmed a review of the current 2-metre distancing rule as the government comes under continuous pressure from business leaders, Tory backbenchers and rightwing media to further ease the lockdown restrictions.
Boris Johnson said on Sunday that the falling numbers of coronavirus cases has given the government “more margin for manoeuvre” in easing the 2-metre physical distancing rule.
When asked about the British government’s record, Kluge said: “We know that early lockdowns saved lives and bought some time for the health system to be ready, But I would rather than instead of looking to the past, jump to the future and say that the question of lifting the lockdown is as important as going to the lockdown. The key words here are to do it gradually. Do it carefully.”
As of Saturday 13 June, there were 41,662 deaths in the UK, which showed a daily increase of 1,425 confirmed cases and 181 deaths.
