LONDON (BLOOMBERG) - Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said it's too soon for Britain to relax the lockdown it imposed almost three weeks ago in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
"We're not done yet, we must keep going," Raab said at a televised briefing in London on Thursday (April 9).
"Deaths are still rising, and we still haven't seen the peak of the virus. So it's still too early to lift the measures that we've put in place. We must stick to the plan."
He spoke after the death toll from the virus rose by a further 881 to bring the total to 7,978.
Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser, warned he expects the number of deaths to increase for "a few weeks" yet.
When Britain imposed sweeping restrictions on movement on March 23, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the measures would be reviewed in three weeks - a deadline that falls on Monday.
The lockdown has brought the economy to a near halt, and triggered a surge in the number of people claiming welfare payments for the first time.
Still, the number of deaths from virus has continued to increase, and government scientists say they don't have enough data yet to show the restrictions are having enough of an effect to justify being relaxed.
JOHNSON'S HEALTH
Raab, who is in charge of the government while Johnson is in critical care suffering from the virus, would not say how long he expects the restrictions will be extended for. He said the government would analyse the data next week.
The prime minister is still in intensive care.
"He continues to make positive steps forward and he's in good spirits," Raab added.
He said he had not spoken to Johnson, but he and the rest of the Cabinet have "got this covered" in the premier's absence.
Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty pointed to one positive sign - the rate of confirmed infections has slowed. Instead of doubling every three days, they are now taking six days or more, he said.
Raab said that while the "early signs" are that the lockdown is having the desired effect of slowing the spread of the virus, "it's too early to say that conclusively."
