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Covid-19: UK records lowest death toll of 36, shops set to reopen
The Department of Health said the cumulative figures of the dead was 41,698 (day rise of 36) and 295,889 cases (day rise of 1,514). The UK remains one of the worst hit countries by the coronavirus pandemic - there were nearly 1,000 day-deaths in April - but recent weeks have shown a decline.
The United Kingdom on Sunday registered the lowest day-rise in the number of dead from coronavirus – 36 – since lockdown on March 23, encouraging the Boris Johnson government to reopen non-essential shops with social distancing from Monday.
The Department of Health said the cumulative figures of the dead was 41,698 (day rise of 36) and 295,889 cases (day rise of 1,514). The UK remains one of the worst hit countries by the coronavirus pandemic - there were nearly 1,000 day-deaths in April - but recent weeks have shown a decline.
The Johnson government has been gradually reopening the economy, partly driven by the need to begin recovery amidst steep decline in GDP (20 per cent down in April). This, however, has prompted concern from public health experts that the threat from the virus remains.
The decline in deaths and positive cases has been the sharpest in London, which was a hotbed in March and April. Mayor Sadiq Khan cautioned the people that the lockdown has not been lifted: “The virus is still out there…Stay at home as much as possible and avoid public transport”.
Prime Minister Johnson visited the Westfield shopping centre in London on Sunday and said the government is reviewing the two-metre distancing rule, which is central to shops and other establishment reopening as before.
According to him, the current infection figures allowed for “more margin for manoeuvre” in easing the social distancing regulations, but he insisted this he would work “very closely with the scientists at all times” and the decision would be based on “safety, health, and stopping the disease”.
He said: “As we get the numbers down, so it becomes one-in-a-thousand, one-in-sixteen hundred, maybe fewer, your chances of being, two metres one metre or even a foot away from somebody who has the virus are obviously going down statistically, so you start to build some more margin for manoeuvre, and we’ll be looking at that and keeping it under constant review.”
The people, he added, should be able to “shop with confidence” when non-essential stores reopen in England on Monday, hoping that there would be a “gradual” increase in the numbers of people returning to the high street.
He said: “I am very optimistic about the opening up that is going to happen tomorrow. I think people should shop and shop with confidence, but they should of course observe the rules on social distancing and do it as safely as possible”.