U.K. Virus Deaths Pass 26,000; Raab Warns on Easing Lockdown

(Bloomberg) --

The U.K.’s death toll from the coronavirus passed 26,000 after the government bowed to pressure to include fatalities outside hospitals in the figures for the first time.

As the number of deaths rose by a further 765 in 24 hours, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab warned on Wednesday the government won’t move quickly to ease the lockdown that has shut down large parts of the economy.

Like other European countries, the U.K. is under pressure to re-open shops and businesses as the virus threatens to trigger the worst recession in decades and a wave of mass unemployment: British Airways said this week it will slash 12,000 jobs. But relaxing the restrictions risks unleashing another wave of infections.

Raab highlighted the example of Germany, where the number of new cases of the virus rose after some social distancing measures were relaxed.

“This is a very real risk and it’s vital we proceed carefully,” he told reporters at a press conference in 10 Downing Street. “A second spike would be harmful to public health and would result in many more deaths from Covid-19.”

Britain will next formally review its lockdown on May 7, and Raab said the government is waiting to review the evidence from SAGE, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, before deciding how to proceed.

The U.K.’s deputy chief medical officer, Jonathan Van-Tam, suggested that the virus could persist for “some time,” potentially until a vaccine is available.

“This virus will absolutely come back,” he said. “We have to be extremely sure-footed and extremely painstaking about this.”

In other developments:

• U.K. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said schools in England will open to children in a “phased manner” once the lockdown ends
• Use of motor vehicles in Britain on a working day rose to its highest since March 23, a trend Public Health England’s Yvonne Doyle called ‘slightly worrying’
• The government widened the eligibility criteria for people wanting to be tested for the virus to include over-65s and people who have to leave their homes for work
• Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove defended the influence of political aide Dominic Cummings on SAGE
• By the weekend, the government will publish 10 papers detailing how parts of the economy can return to work once the lockdown eases, the Financial Times reported
• Businesses operating outdoors, where the risk of transmitting the virus is lower, are more likely to be able to open first when restrictions ease, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said on ITV’s Peston program.

The U.K.’s latest daily death figures include deaths outside hospitals since the end of March following criticism that the Department of Health and Social Care was under-reporting the death toll from the pandemic. Based on that, the U.K’s death rate is slightly lower than Belgium’s -- although the latter includes suspected Covid deaths in its tally, unlike Britain.

Raab said that approximately 52,000 tests for the virus were carried out on Tuesday, still far short of the 100,000 target the government says it plans to hit by the end of the month.

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