MINISTERS intend to end the coronavirus lockdown by June- with employees, areas or the “immune” released at various times. A group is said to be drawing up a list of options to eliminate the restrictions once the amount of hospital admissions starts to fall.
Civil servants are asked to draw up options for a staggered release so Britain can get closer to return to normal. It comes after Treasury officials warned if the lockdown went beyond June that the Government wouldn’t have the ability to stop typically successful companies going under.
The restrictions must be reviewed next week but with cases still rising there is little probability of anything changing shortly. Speaking this morning Housing and Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick indicated the lockdown might be slowly eased “in the weeks to come”.
He explained: “If we could do that, then we could look at the weeks to come to start to very carefully lift a few of those measures.”But an exit strategy that is sustainable will also need to be accompanied by much more tracing and testing than we have the ability to do now”.
Everyone needs to play their role, and if we do, we will have the ability to at a sensible step, lift these constraints sooner and start to turn the tide on the virus.”His remarks come one day on from Health Secretary Matt Hancock admitting there wasn’t yet a plan on the best way best to end the lockdown.
He explained: “Of course there is a debate about what happens next and what happens then.”But it isn’t a debate that we’re concluding on in Government as it’s too early. “The new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has required more information about what happens next.
“We should understand what that exit strategy is, once the restrictions may be lifted and what the plan is for economic recovery.”A principal advisor to the Government yesterday claimed they weren’t able to finish the lockdown until they found a safe means to do so.
“But there is no point in doing so unless we can find a strategy that enables us to exit and maintain transmission low.”He said: “Unless you can find mass testing, at scale, with pace, I don’t see how you get away from this lockdown. It’s terrifying the financial damage we’re doing each week in this lockdown.”
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