Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Aug 04, 2025

Raab suggests UK lockdown could last at least another month

Raab suggests UK lockdown could last at least another month

PM’s deputy backs chief scientific adviser, saying public must stay in until peak has passed

People in Britain have been warned that there is “a long way to go” before lockdown measures to curb the spread of coronavirus are likely to be relaxed, with the UK’s chief scientific adviser suggesting they could last another month.

As the country entered its fourth week of rules compelling the public to stay at home except for essential work, shopping or exercise, Sir Patrick Vallance said he expected the number of deaths from coronavirus to continue rising this week before hitting a plateau that could last up to three weeks.

Only when the UK was “firmly on the other side” would it be safe to relax some of the restrictions, Vallance told the the daily Downing Street press briefing, implying that the lockdown measures in place could easily last another month.

His comments, coming three weeks after Boris Johnson announced a lockdown, were backed by the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, who said it was “absolutely crucially important” not to let up at this point.

When Johnson announced the lockdown on 23 March, he said it would be reviewed after three weeks, adding: “We will keep these restrictions under constant review. We will look again in three weeks, and relax them if the evidence shows we are able to.”

However, ministers are now looking at proposals that would involve the restrictions being removed gradually, with some of the physical distancing measures possibly being maintained for many months.

Raab, who is deputising for the prime minister while he recovers at Chequers from the Covid-19 infection that led to him spending a week in hospital, said he spoke to Johnson on Saturday.

The government must decide by Thursday this week whether to renew the three-week lockdown period. The foreign secretary said a formal decision on how to ease the lockdown would be taken after ministers received evidence from the scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage).

He said: “We don’t expect to make any changes to the measures currently in place at that point and we won’t until we’re confident, as confident as we realistically can be, that any such changes can be safely made.”

The final decision would be signed off at an emergency Cobra meeting attended by the heads of the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, who are expected to back the approach adopted by Westminster.

On Monday the Department of Health and Social Care said 11,329 hospital patients in the UK had now died from coronavirus, up 717 from the previous day’s total. The total number of coronavirus deaths is higher because the daily figure does not include deaths in care homes or private homes; the Office for National Statistics will release non-hospital deaths on Tuesday.

Vallance said there would be a further increase in the death rate. He went on: “Thereafter we should see a plateau as the effects of social distancing come through. That plateau may last for some time and begin to decrease.” Asked what he meant by “some time”, he said the plateau could last for “two or three weeks”.

He said if the lockdown measures were relaxed too early there was a danger that the infection rate could shoot back up. “We’ll look and see where the peak is and when we are firmly the other side of it in terms of numbers coming down,” Vallance said.

“Only at that stage do you start looking at what measures might be released and how they might be released. It would be a complete waste of everything that everyone has had to do until now … if we were to rapidly reverse that and lead to a re-emergence of this.”

Making the same point, Raab said: “We’ve still got a long way to go … We’ve still not passed the peak of this virus.”

The foreign secretary added: “It’s absolutely crucially important that we do not take our eye off the ball or the public’s focus on the thing that has been a success so far in relative terms – which is our ability through widespread support for our social distancing measures to deprive this virus of the means to spread.”

Earlier it emerged that the cabinet as a whole may not be involved in the formal decision to extend the lockdown, and for how long.

Although it normally meets on a Tuesday, no meeting has been scheduled for this week, the prime minister’s spokesman told the daily lobby briefing. He said the main work coordinating the government’s response to coronavirus was being done at the regular morning No 10 meeting, which is attended by a small number of senior ministers and is referred to as the “war cabinet’” by officials.

Raab is chairing it in the prime minister’s absence. Other key decisions are being taken by the four coronavirus ministerial groups, the spokesman said.

Johnson left St Thomas’ hospital in London on Sunday after a week as an inpatient including three nights in intensive care. There was a 48-hour period when things “could have gone either way”, he said of his treatment.

He is recuperating at Chequers in Buckinghamshire – the official retreat for serving prime ministers – where he has been reunited with his pregnant fiancee, Carrie Symonds. A spokesman said Johnson was not doing any government work there and was “focusing on recovery”.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
×