A handout image released by 10 Downing Street, shows Britains Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking during a remote press conference to update the nation on the COVID-19 pandemic, inside 10 Downing Street in central London on April 30, 2020. Britain is past the peak of its coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday, despite recording another 674 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total toll to 26,711. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT
The PM has said that since the UK has "past the peak" of the coronavirus outbreak and is presently "on the downward slope" he will set out a "comprehensive" plan next week on reopening schools and restarting the economy.
There have been 26,711 deaths in UK hospitals and the wider community, Mr Johnson said.
The prime minister insisted that to avoid the "disaster" of a second peak, despite the fact that "we can now see the sunlight", the UK must meet the fifth of five tests before the lockdown can be lifted.
"Nothing we do should lift the R or reproduction rate - back above one," he said.
Later in the briefing, the BBCs political editor Laura Kuenssberg asked what level the reproduction rate should be before the government would be "comfortable easing restrictions".
The governments chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, replied: "We are absolutely confident that the wrong answer is anything over one."
He explained that as soon as the R rises above one you "restart exponential growth" and "sooner or later" the NHS would be at the risk of being overwhelmed.
Mr Johnson said that keeping the reproduction rate down "is going to be absolutely vital to our recovery".
SOURCE: PRESS TV
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/16674
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